By Desire Emmanuel
In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command’s Scorpion Squad have arrested 14 foreigners who lured 23 victims from Mali with lucrative job offers, kidnapped them and demanded the sum of N10 million from each of their family members, totalling N230 million).
The police also rescued the 23 victims from captivity during the raid that took place at night at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
The names of those arrested were given as 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).
However, the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba and his brother, Sougule Zoubere, who coordinated the recruitment of the victims are currently at large.
The command disclosed that the operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers.
It was gathered that upon their arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families through WhatsApp and other online platforms.
The command wrote: “Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate was coordinated by Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria.
“His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handled the recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they were detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (₦10,000,000) for each victim (totalling N230 million).”
The command added that further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days.
The victims were said to have been confined in two two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.
However, while acting on intelligence reports, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout where the 23 victims, comprising 14 males, eight females, and one child, suspected to belong to one of the females, were rescued unhurt, except one of them that sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention.
The arrested foreign nationals were said to have given more useful information to the operatives and they are expected to be charged to court at the conclusion of the investigation.
