From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Katsina State Police Command has smashed what it described as a notorious criminal syndicate specializing in the kidnap of children below age five for ransom.
According to a statement on Wednesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, the breakthrough followed a report on October 5, 2026, by one Abubakar Ahmed Rufa’i that his four-and-a-half-year-old son, Muhammed Abubakar, was abducted on September 30. The kidnappers initially demanded N5 million ransom but later accepted N20,000 as “feeding money” paid through a POS terminal.
The statement said: “Operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) swung into action and arrested two POS operators, Abubakar Muntari and Aminu Idris, who received and cashed the funds.
“While investigation was ongoing, a second complaint was lodged on October 8 by one Abdulrahaman Bello that his three-year-old son, Yakubu Abdulrahman, was missing and that his abductors were demanding ransom and N100,000 feeding money.
“Linking both incidents to the same network through technical analysis, detectives mounted a sting operation at about 10:15 p.m. on October 8 and arrested Abdulhakim Mustapha, 16, while attempting to collect the money at a POS terminal. “The previously arrested POS operators positively identified him as the same person who collected money in the first case.
“The suspect confessed and led detectives to the gang’s hideout where the three-year-old victim was rescued unhurt.
“An accomplice, Aminu Musa, 20, who guarded the victim and coordinated ransom negotiations, was arrested during the raid.
“The operational SIM card used for ransom negotiations was also recovered.
“During interrogation, the suspects confessed and named two fleeing members, Ibrahim and Mohammed (a.k.a Malam), as accomplices.”
The statement noted that the Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Umar Fage, remains resolute in dealing decisively with criminals targeting vulnerable minors.
He urged POS operators and financial service agents to verify customer identities and report suspicious transactions to the nearest police station.
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