Kidnappers kill seven-year-old boy after demanding ₦2.5m ransom

A seven-year-old boy, Abdullahi Rabi’u, has been found dead in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, hours after suspected kidnappers reportedly demanded a ₦2.5 million ransom from his family.

According to his uncle, Sukairaj Gado, the boy went missing on Monday evening after being sent on an errand to a neighbour’s house in the Majema area along Ring Road.

Mr Gado said the boy delivered the message but did not return home, prompting the search.

He said the family received a telephone call from an unidentified number on Tuesday morning. The caller reportedly demanded ₦2.5 million and claimed the boy had been kidnapped.

The family hoped to secure the child’s release but was devastated when news of his death emerged, Mr Gado said.

According to him, the boy’s body was discovered on Tuesday evening in a narrow passage near his family’s residence.

The incident has left the family and neighbourhood residents in mourning.

Mr Gado said the family suspected the perpetrators might be familiar with the neighbourhood and called on security agencies to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

The incident comes amid previous reports of missing persons later found dead in Plateau State.

In December 2024, a 10-year-old boy, Tasi’u Abdullahi, was reportedly abducted in the Rikkos community of Jos North. His family reportedly received a ransom demand before his body was found.

READ ALSO; Police rescue three-year-old boy, arrest four suspects over abductions

In April 2025, two children who reportedly went missing in the Trade Centre area of Kuru District in Jos South Local Government Area were found dead inside a parked vehicle. A third child survived.

Also, in April, a final-year student of the University of Jos, Adeyemo Oluwafemi Temitope, was found dead after being reported missing in Jos. The circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately clear.

The circumstances surrounding Abdullahi Rabi’u’s death, including how he was killed, remain unclear. It was also unclear whether any suspects had been arrested.

Efforts to obtain the police account of the incident were unsuccessful.

The telephone number of Alfred Alabo, the spokesperson for the Plateau State Police Command, was not connecting when this report was prepared.

The police had not publicly confirmed the reported ransom demand or provided details of any investigation as of the time of reporting.