How Foreigners Were Lured Into Nigeria, Held Hostage Near Abuja

Operatives of the Scorpion Squad of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command have smashed 14 cross border kidnap syndicate and rescuing 23 foreign nationals that were held at a settlement in Unguwar -Adamu Zone B River Side Ado- Mararaba, bordering FCT and Nasarawa state.

CP Miller G Dantawaye, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the command headquarters in Abuja on Friday, said the intelligence-led operation took place around 8:00 pm on Tuesday, October, 22, 2025.

He added that the operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers.

He said the victims are being held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

• Fresh Sim Database and Sim Data Truth, Uses, and Legal Aspects
• Advice to JICA on Abuja Masterplan review

He said 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.

“And his younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments which the group demanded four million CFA (₦10,000,000) for each victim,”the CP said.

CP Dantawaye, said further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days.

He said the victims were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.

According to him, the scorpion squad acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence traced the hideout to the above address where the victims, comprising 14 males, 8 females, and a child, were all rescued unhurt.

“Except one of the victims who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention,”he added.

The police commissioner, however, gave the names of the arrested in connection to the crime as Bubakari Cisse, Karamogo Dembele, Musa Kamsoko, Amadou Traore, Sareba Traore, Zoumana Diara, Umar Koulibaly, Alasgara Sagara, Berthe Saidu, Abdullahi Napo, Isah Goita, Lorita Traore, Mohammed Siaaibe and Haruna Dembele.

He said efforts are ongoing to apprehend the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba and his brother Sougule Zoubere, who are currently at large.

CP Dantawaye, while commending the Scorpion Squad for the swift operation, called on members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the command via its emergency numbers: 08032003913, 08028940883 CRU: 08107314192. (Daily trust)