THE Kaduna State police command has arrested a 34-year-old suspected bandit kingpin, Mati Bagio, after eleven years of being trailed by security agencies.
In a statement, the spokesman of the command, DSP Mansir Hassan, said the suspect, a resident of Unguwan Galadima in Shika District of Giwa local government area, had been on the wanted list of the police for eleven years, and also said to have led a criminal gang that terrorised communities across Kaduna and Katsina States for years.
According to the police, Bagio was said to have carried out multiple attacks in Giwa, Hunkuyi, Faskari, Dandume and Funtua Local Government Areas of Kaduna and Katsina states before he was eventually arrested.
The statement disclosed that the police recovered a cache of sophisticated firearms, ammunition, a stolen Toyota Prado SUV and two motorcycles during the operation.
The statement read, “On 18th July, 2025, at about 0530 hours, acting on credible intelligence, a team of detectives led by the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, CSP Sani Zuntu, successfully tracked and arrested a notorious gang leader popularly known as Mati Bagio, a 34-year-old male of Unguwan Galadima in Shika District, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
“The suspect is a notorious bandit leader who terrorised Kaduna and Katsina states along Giwa, Hunkuyi, Faskari, Dandume, and Funtua Local Government Areas.
He had been on the run for the past 11 years. He was just apprehended at his residence, where a significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered”.
“Items recovered from the suspect include one AK-47 rifle; one fabricated AK-47 rifle; one pump-action gun; two English pistols; two AK-47 magazines; two LAR rifle magazines; four fabricated AK-47 butts; four AK-47 live ammunition rounds; 10 pump-action cartridges; 87 rounds of pistol ammunition; one machete; two torchlights; and one unjamming rod.”
