Police nab five suspected kidnappers, rescue minor, recover N1.5m ransom

The Borno State Police Command has arrested five suspected kidnappers with the rescue of a seven-year-old boy and recovered a N1.5 million ransom from the suspects in Maiduguri, the state capital.

According to the Command, the abductors initially demanded N10 million ransom but reduced it to N8 million, before the mother of the child paid N1.5 million as ransom to the nabbed suspects.

Spokesperson for the Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nahum Daso, yesterday, in Maiduguri, said that the abduction of the child was reported by the parents on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at about 3:30 p.m. to the State’s Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

He said that the child was kidnapped at the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) staff quarters along Maiduguri-Dikwa Road.

Daso, in the statement, further said: “Investigations indicate that the five kidnappers contacted the child’s mother using a concealed phone number and demanded a ransom of N10 million, which was later reduced to N8 million, with N1.5 million eventually paid through a Point of Sale (POS) account.

“Following an intensive digital forensic analysis and tracking, the police detectives traced the account that was used in paying the ransom and arrested a POS operator, Musa Mohammed Bashir.”

He added that four other suspects were subsequently apprehended for coordinating the abduction operations across the Chad Basin and Bulabulin Alajiri areas of Maiduguri

The police also confirmed that the child was rescued unharmed, and taken for a medical evaluation and later reunited with his parents, while the N1.5 million ransom was recovered.

The Commissioner of Police, Naziru Abdulmajid, however, commended the detectives for the swift response and reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing, urging residents to remain vigilant and provide timely information to security agencies as investigations continue.