Police arrest suspects over staged kidnapping, rescue two-year-old

Police in Nigeria have apprehended suspects connected to a staged kidnapping involving a two-year-old child and uncovered a suspected kidnapping and armed robbery network. The Nigeria Police Force's Intelligence Response Team conducted two intelligence-led investigations which led to the arrests.

In the first case, 34-year-old Nansik Wuyep Sule was arrested for allegedly conspiring with the child's biological mother, Catherine Davou, to stage the kidnapping. Police discovered that the ransom demand started at ₦7 million, later escalating to ₦15 million. The child was found safe at Sule's residence and received medical care before being returned to his biological father. A separate suspect, Luka Emmanuel Butdam, was arrested for making calls related to the ransom demand.

In a separate investigation, IRT operatives arrested Idris Mohammed, also known as Yellow, and Mohammed Bello Adams for their suspected involvement in the kidnapping of commercial driver Idris Zakari Baba and other criminal activities. Baba was reportedly lured to Zaria under the guise of transporting him to meet Mohammed. After a ransom of ₦3 million was paid, Baba was held captive until his 2012 Toyota Corolla was recovered.

Mohammed is also linked to the kidnapping of Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar, for which a ransom of ₦10.5 million was reportedly paid. Police are continuing to identify other suspects and determine the full extent of their involvement in these criminal activities.