Nigerian Security Rescues 3 Pastors, Disrupts Arms Network

Three Nigerian pastors are back with their families after security forces rescued them from kidnappers and dismantled an arms smuggling ring in the process.

Rev. Idi Buhari, Emmanuel Jacob, and Suleiman Adamu were traveling to officiate a wedding ceremony on January 9 when armed criminals abducted them in Kaduna State. The Department of State Services tracked them down and freed all three men alive from a remote location in Niger State.

"This intervention has brought tremendous relief to the church, their families and the Christian community at large," said Rev. John Joseph Hayab, who leads the Christian Association of Nigeria across 19 northern states. He received the freed pastors in Kaduna on Friday, visibly relieved that the coordinated effort had worked.

The rescue operation revealed something bigger. DSS operatives discovered an active weapons trafficking network operating across multiple states in northern Nigeria.

Following intelligence gathered during the rescue, security forces arrested three suspects connected to moving ammunition through motor parks and rural roads. The traffickers deliberately chose routes that avoided security checkpoints, using everyday transportation to hide their illegal cargo.

One suspect told investigators he was paid 50,000 naira to collect a package at Tegina Motor Park in Niger State, believing it contained tantalite, a valuable mineral. He said the ammunition was hidden inside sacks of millet and moved through middlemen who each received payments for their role in the chain.

The Ripple Effect

The operation shows how one successful rescue can expose entire criminal networks. When security agencies coordinate across state lines and communities provide information, criminals lose their advantage.

Kaduna State's Commissioner for Internal Security, Sule Shuaibu, emphasized that defeating these networks requires everyone's participation. "Security is a collective responsibility that requires the cooperation of all," he said, urging residents to report suspicious activities.

Rev. Hayab put it simply: "Criminals thrive where communities are divided." The rescue proves the opposite is also true. When communities unite with security forces, criminal operations fall apart.

The three pastors are now recovering with their families, and a major arms trafficking route has been shut down because people chose to work together instead of staying silent.