The Niger State Police Command has arrested two men in connection with the kidnap and gruesome killing of a 10-year-old boy in Mariga Local Government Area.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said the case began on July 24, 2025, when young Yaseer Mustapha of Kwana-Mariga was abducted.
His guardian, who was working on the farm at the time, later received a call demanding ₦3.5 million ransom. After negotiations, he managed to raise ₦100,000, which he paid into an account provided by the abductors. A month later, he was compelled to pay another ₦10,000 to one Abdulmajid Dan-Azumi, but there was no further contact.
When the situation failed to improve, the guardian reported the matter to the police in September. The case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).
Abiodun said operatives trailed and arrested Dan-Azumi, 32, of Kwana, whose confession led to the arrest of his accomplice, 18-year-old Abdulnafiu Usman.
“The suspects confessed to the crime, and unfortunately, they killed the boy and buried him in an uncompleted building within the neighbourhood. The operatives were led to the scene, where the decomposed body was recovered and later released to the family for burial,” the police spokesman said.
Both suspects have since been charged in court.
