Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested six suspected bandits at the Kaduna International Airport. The suspects, three men and three women, had just returned from the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, they were arrested around 3:40am on Tuesday by DSS officers stationed at the airport.
A top source who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the arrest to SaharaReporters. He said the suspects had just disembarked from a Hajj return flight when the DSS moved in.
“Today, at 3:40 a.m, operatives of DSS arrested 6 suspected bandits, 3 men and 3 women, at the Kaduna Airport upon their return from Hajj,” he said.
Meanwhile, the identities of the suspects remain unknown to the public at the time of this report. Although intelligence reports linked them to bandit activities in the Northern region of Nigeria.
it was gathered that the officials are still investigating the suspects and may release more information later.
rRecall that this is not the first time DSS arrested suspects linked to banditry during Hajj operations.
On May 19, 2025, the DSS arrested Sani Galadi, a suspected kidnap kingpin, at the Sultan Abubakar International Airport in Sokoto. He was caught while trying to board a flight to Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.
Citynews Nigeria reported that he was arrested at the Hajj terminal during a routine screening exercise.
“He was arrested at the Hajj terminal while undergoing a final screening before their departure for the holy land today,” a source familiar with the development told the newsmen.
“He is currently under investigation and will be charged to court upon the completion of interrogation,” the source added.
Also, Faruk Umar, a top official of the Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, confirmed Galadi’s arrest. Umar claimed that the suspect was not one of Sokoto’s registered pilgrims.
“I also heard about the arrest, but I can comfortably tell you that the suspect is not a pilgrim from Sokoto but from Zamfara State,” he said.
According to him, Sokoto pilgrims were not scheduled to travel on the day Galadi was arrested.
“Sokoto pilgrims are not travelling today, it’s only those from Zamfara that will move today,” Umar said. “The next flight for Sokoto is tomorrow, so definitely the arrested suspect is from Zamfara and not Sokoto,” he added.
Umar also said the DSS screening was part of a wider security arrangement. He explained that DSS worked with state pilgrim boards to secure Hajj travel to prevent criminals from using the Hajj to escape arrest.
