The Nigeria Police Force, through operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), has busted a staged kidnapping plot involving a two-year-old child.
Disclosing this on Friday, the Force spokesman, CSP Ani Iniedu, stated that in addition to the bust, operatives also arrested members of a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery syndicate in intelligence-led operations.
In the first case, operatives arrested 34-year-old Nansik Wuyep Sule over the reported kidnapping of two-year-old Rito Jesse Davou. Investigation revealed that Sule allegedly conspired with the child’s biological mother, Catherine Davou, to stage the abduction and create the impression that the child had been kidnapped, initially demanding ₦7 million in ransom.
Further investigation showed that the child was kept at Sule’s residence, where the ransom demand was subsequently increased to ₦15 million. Another suspect, Luka Emmanuel Butdam, was also arrested for allegedly making calls to the child’s grandmother in connection with the ransom demand.
The child was eventually located and safely rescued. After receiving medical attention, he was handed over to his biological father.
In a separate investigation, IRT operatives arrested Idris Mohammed, alias Yellow, and Mohammed Bello Adams over their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a commercial driver, Idris Zakari Baba, and other related criminal activities.
According to the investigation, the victim was allegedly lured under the pretext of conveying Mohammed from Abuja to Zaria. He was subsequently 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 also linked the suspects to the reported kidnapping of Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar, in which a ransom of ₦10.5 million was reportedly paid.
The Force said investigations are ongoing to identify other persons connected to the criminal activities and determine the full extent of the suspects’ involvement.
