The Katsina State Police Command has arrested four suspects over the alleged kidnapping of children below the age of five for ransom and rescued a three-year-old victim unharmed.
The police said the suspects were linked to a syndicate that allegedly abducted young children and demanded ransom from their parents, while two other suspected members remained at large.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said in a statement that investigations began on October 5, 2026, after one Abubakar Ahmed Rufa’i reported that his four-and-a-half-year-old son, Muhammed Abubakar, had been kidnapped on September 30.
Aliyu said the kidnappers initially demanded N5 million but later asked for N20,000 as feeding money before releasing the child.
The money was reportedly paid through point-of-sale (POS) accounts, leading to the arrest of two operators, Abubakar Muntari and Aminu Idris, who allegedly received and cashed the funds.
The police said another report was received on October 8 from Abdulrahaman Bello, whose three-year-old son, Yakubu Abdulrahman, had gone missing.
According to the police, the father subsequently received calls from the alleged abductors demanding ransom and an additional N100,000 as feeding money for the child.
Following technical analysis that reportedly linked the two cases, police operatives launched an operation on the night of October 8 and arrested 16-year-old Abdulhakim Mustapha at a POS terminal while he was allegedly attempting to collect the money.
The police said the two POS operators earlier arrested identified Mustapha as the person who collected the feeding money paid in the first kidnapping case.
Mustapha reportedly confessed to involvement in the crimes and led detectives to a hideout where the three-year-old victim was rescued unharmed.
The police also arrested a 20-year-old alleged accomplice, Aminu Musa, who was accused of keeping watch over the child and coordinating ransom negotiations.
Aliyu said a SIM card allegedly used in the ransom negotiations was recovered during the operation.
He added that two other suspects, identified only as Ibrahim and Mohammed, also known as Malam, were at large, while investigations were ongoing to apprehend them and other possible accomplices.
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