The Police \ fILE iMAGE
The FCT Abuja Police Command has confirmed the arrest of 14 suspected kidnappers and the rescue of 23 victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity.
The operation was executed by the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad.
A statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh, showed that the intelligence-led operation took place at about 8:00pm on Tuesday, October 22, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
“In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad, have successfully arrested fourteen (14) suspected kidnappers and rescued twenty-three (23) victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity,” Adeh said in the statement on Friday.
The operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers and upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.
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FCT police authorities said preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria while his younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments.
“Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.
“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address where a total number of twenty-three (23) victims, comprising fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females, and one (1) child, all unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention,” the police said.
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