Police Foil Kidnap Plans, Arrest Three Suspects in Abuja

The Nigerian Police have successfully thwarted kidnapping plans targeting students and citizens in Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

During a media briefing on Saturday in Abuja, Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed that three members of the kidnapping gangs have been apprehended. The arrests, carried out on January 17 by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), followed credible intelligence received on January 15.

Adejobi explained that the IRT, acting on credible information, intercepted a conversation between suspects discussing their plans. The intercepted call revealed the intention to carry out a kidnapping operation involving multiple gangs.

The suspects had also communicated details about a wealthy civil servant in their custody, demanding a ransom of N50 million for his release. Adejobi revealed that the same conversation exposed ongoing surveillance of a polytechnic in Niger State with intentions to abduct students.

“These suspects have a history of involvement in several kidnapping operations in the FCT, including incidents in the Bwari axis. Our operatives are actively working to rescue victims and apprehend other gang members,” Adejobi stated.

In a related development, police operatives arrested an additional suspect in Kaduna on Thursday for armed robbery and kidnapping. The arrest followed the abduction of a man from his Abuja residence, with the assailants intercepted at a filling station in Kaduna.

The suspects had been involved in a previous arrest in November 2023, but were granted bail. Adejobi clarified that recent social media rumors about the death of a suspect were false, emphasizing that the arrested individual is alive, albeit injured.

Adejobi further reported that 16 suspects have been arrested by IRT operatives and the Anti-Violent Crime Unit, FCT Command, for various criminal offenses. The suspects provided confessional statements, leading to the recovery of firearms and ammunition.

The Commissioner of Police in charge of the Special Intelligence Squad (SIS), Ben Igwe, announced the deployment of SIS operatives to areas of high kidnapping activity, including Bwari in the FCT.

The police are actively engaged in ensuring the safety of citizens and combating criminal activities, with a commitment to transparency and dispelling misinformation.