Police rescue 23 abducted foreigners, arrest 14 suspects

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has rescued 23 foreign nationals from captivity and arrested 14 suspected kidnappers in Nasarawa State.

In a statement on Friday, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said the operation was conducted around 8 pm on Tuesday, October 22, 2025, by operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

“The intelligence-led operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers.

“Upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms,” the statement read.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate was 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, handled recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria.

“The group demanded four million CFA (₦10 million) for each victim. The victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes and confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions,” the statement added.

According to the police, the 23 victims—14 men, eight women, and one child—were rescued unhurt, except for one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention.

Those arrested were identified as Bubakari Cisse (40), Karamogo Dembele (25), Musa Kamsoko (23), Amadou Traore (25), Sareba Traore (24), Zoumana Diara (23), Umar Koulibaly (26), Alasgara Sagara (20), Berthe Saidu (23), Abdullahi Napo (32), Isah Goita (26), Lorita Traore (22), Mohammed Siaaibe (23), and Haruna Dembele (37).

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Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the principal suspects, Jigiba and Zoubere, who remain at large.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Miller G. Dantawaye, commended the Scorpion Squad for the successful operation and “urged residents to report suspicious activities.”

It was reported on October 15, 2025, that the command also foiled a planned kidnapping and armed attack by suspected bandits in Byazhin Forest, a suburb of Abuja, recovering an AK-47 rifle and rounds of ammunition during the operation.

The command said the raid was part of ongoing efforts to curb the resurgence of banditry and kidnapping around border communities in the FCT, particularly in Bwari, Kuje, and Gwagwalada councils, where security agencies have recently intensified patrols.