The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has uncovered a staged kidnapping involving a two-year-old child and arrested members of a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery syndicate in separate intelligence-led operations.
The Force said the operations were carried out by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
In the first case, the police arrested 34-year-old Nansik Wuyep Sule over the reported kidnapping of two-year-old Rito Jesse Davou.
According to the police, investigation 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.
The suspects initially demanded ₦7 million as ransom before allegedly keeping the child at Sule’s residence, where the demand was subsequently increased to ₦15 million.
The police also arrested another suspect, identified as Luka Emmanuel Butdam, for allegedly making ransom-related calls to the child’s grandmother.
The child was eventually located and safely rescued by the operatives.
The police said Rito received 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, Idris Zakari Baba, and other criminal activities.
According to the Force, Baba was allegedly lured by Mohammed under the pretext of transporting him from Abuja to Zaria.
The victim was reportedly intercepted by armed men, taken into the bush and held captive until a ransom of ₦3 million was paid.
The victim’s vehicle, a 2012 Toyota Corolla, was later traced to Bauchi State and recovered while Mohammed was allegedly attempting to sell it.
Further investigation, the police said, linked the suspects to the reported kidnapping of Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar.
A ransom of ₦10.5 million was reportedly paid for their release.
The Nigeria Police Force said investigation into both cases is ongoing, with efforts focused on identifying other persons allegedly connected to the criminal activities and determining the full extent of the suspects’ involvement.
The Force reiterated its commitment to intelligence-led operations aimed at dismantling kidnapping and other criminal networks across the country.
