The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a suspected staged kidnapping involving a two-year-old child and separately dismantled a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery syndicate in two intelligence-led investigations.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday.
The PPRO said the breakthroughs were achieved by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
According to the statement, police arrested 34-year-old Nansik Wuyep Sule over the alleged staged abduction of two-year-old Rito Jesse Davou.
Police, investigation revealed that Sule allegedly conspired with the child’s biological mother, Catherine Davou, to fake the kidnapping and create the impression that the child had been abducted.
The suspects reportedly initially demanded ₦7 million as ransom before allegedly increasing the demand to ₦15 million.
Police said the child was kept at Sule’s residence while another suspect, identified as Luka Emmanuel Butdam, allegedly contacted the child’s grandmother to demand ransom.
Following intelligence-led investigation, operatives located the child and rescued him safely. He was given medical attention before being handed over to his biological father.
In a separate investigation, IRT operatives arrested Idris Mohammed, also known as Yellow, and Mohammed Bello Adams over their alleged involvement in kidnapping and other criminal activities.
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Police investigations further revealed that a commercial driver, Idris Zakari Baba, was allegedly lured under the guise of transporting Mohammed from Abuja to Zaria.
The driver was reportedly intercepted by armed men after picking up Mohammed, taken into a bush and held captive until a ransom of ₦3 million was paid.
His 2012 Toyota Corolla was subsequently traced to Bauchi State, where police recovered the vehicle while Mohammed was allegedly attempting to sell it.
Further investigation reportedly linked the suspects to the kidnapping of Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar. Police said a ransom of ₦10.5 million was allegedly paid for their release.
The Force said investigations are ongoing to identify other individuals connected to the criminal operations and determine the full extent of the suspects’ involvement.
The latest arrests, according to the police, demonstrate the continued efforts of the Intelligence Response Team to dismantle organised criminal networks, protect vulnerable citizens and bring perpetrators of kidnapping, armed robbery and related offences to justice.