No fewer than 23 foreign nationals held hostage by a kidnapping and human trafficking syndicate in Nasarawa State have been rescued by the police.
Press gathered that the victims, comprising 14 males, eight females, and a child, were rescued unhurt around 8 p.m. on October 22 at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado, Mararaba area of the state.
According to a statement on Friday by the spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Josephine Adeh, the victims were lured into the country with promises of lucrative jobs.
She said the victims were abducted upon arrival and held hostage while their families were contacted for ransom through WhatsApp and other online platforms.
The police spokesperson added that the syndicate demanded four million CFA (about N10m) from relatives of each victim.
“The 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.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (₦10,000,000) for each victim,” the statement partly read.
Adeh added that the victims were kept in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under harsh conditions before they were rescued.
She said, “Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.
“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address, where a total of 23 victims—comprising 14 males, eight females, and one child—were rescued unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention.”
Adeh noted that 14 suspects were arrested at the scene, including 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).
She added that efforts are ongoing to track down Jigiba and Zoubere, who remain at large.
The latest operation comes amid rising concerns over the increase in organised cross-border trafficking syndicates operating within West Africa.
