The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a staged kidnapping scheme involving the alleged abduction of a two-year-old child, while separately arresting members of a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery syndicate.
The arrests were made by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in two intelligence-led investigations, according to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, on Friday.
In the first case, police arrested 34-year-old Nansik Wuyep Sule over the reported kidnapping of two-year-old Rito Jesse Davou.
The Police said investigations revealed that Sule allegedly conspired with the child’s biological mother, Catherine Davou, to stage the kidnapping and create the impression that the child had been abducted.
It disclosed that an initial ransom demand of ₦7 million was made, before the child was taken to Sule’s residence, where a subsequent demand of ₦15 million was made.
Another suspect, Luka Emmanuel Butdam, was also arrested for allegedly making ransom-related calls to the child’s grandmother.
The child was eventually located and safely rescued by the operatives. He was subsequently given medical attention before being handed over to his biological father.
In a separate investigation, the IRT arrested Idris Mohammed, also known as Yellow, and Mohammed Bello Adams over their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a commercial driver and other criminal activities.
Police said the suspects lured the driver, Idris Zakari Baba, under the pretext of conveying Mohammed from Abuja to Zaria.
The driver was however, intercepted by armed men, taken into the bush and held captive until a ransom of ₦3 million was paid.
His 2012 Toyota Corolla was subsequently traced to Bauchi State, where it was recovered while Mohammed was attempting to sell it.
Further investigation also linked the suspects to the reported kidnapping of Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar, during which a ransom of ₦10.5 million was reportedly paid.
The Force said investigations were ongoing to identify other persons connected to the criminal activities and establish the full extent of the suspects’ involvement.
