The Niger State Police Command has arrested three suspected kidnappers who posed as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to abduct and extort students in Lapai. The suspects were apprehended alongside two informants who allegedly aided their criminal activities.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, the incident occurred on 13th May 2025 at about 8:00 p.m., when four fake EFCC operatives stormed a student lodge off-campus in Lapai. The suspects abducted two students and forced them into a Toyota Corolla vehicle with registration number ABJ 245 CU.
Following a distress call, police operatives attached to Lapai Division immediately mobilised and gave the suspects a hot chase. The vehicle was intercepted along Suleja Road, by Kwakuti, where three suspects were arrested. They are:
Emmanuel Linus, 30 years old, of Dei-Dei, Abuja
Hyelda Aliyu, 28 years old, of Nyanya, Abuja
Abduljallid Tanko, 33 years old, of Karu, Abuja
One other suspect, identified as Alfa James, escaped from the scene and is currently at large.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were invited by two informants and that this mode of operation was their means of livelihood. They admitted entering one of the student rooms while armed with three electric tasers disguised as firearms. The gang reportedly stole five mobile phones and abducted two students.
The suspects further confessed to demanding a ransom of ten million naira (₦10,000,000), which was later negotiated down to five hundred thousand naira (₦500,000) before their arrest. Fake EFCC ID cards used during the operation were said to have been produced at a shop in Nyanya, Abuja, all bearing the same fake identification number “1069”.
The police also arrested two informants identified as Mohammed Hassan and Hamisu Adamu, both of Angwan-Hausa, Lapai. The duo allegedly provided the student information to Emmanuel Linus, whom they had previously known in Paiko. Linus was identified as a dismissed soldier with a criminal record and an ex-convict released about two years ago.
All five suspects are currently under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) and will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
In a separate operation, police operatives of 61 PMF Kontagora arrested two suspects for dealing in illicit drugs. The suspects, Jimoh Adamu, 26, of Argungu Road, Kontagora, and Usman Abubakar, 26, of Sabon-Rijiya village via Mashegu, were arrested at about 10:00 p.m. on 12th May 2025.
They were intercepted along Babban-Rami/Rafin-Gora road on a Bajaj motorcycle. A search revealed 327 wraps of cannabis, 38 packs of Emzol tablets, four sachets of tramadol, and cash amounting to ₦291,200. Jimoh Adamu confessed to being a drug dealer, while Usman Abubakar admitted to assisting him. The suspects will be transferred to the NDLEA for further investigation and prosecution.
Also, on 9th May 2025 at about 3:30 p.m., based on intelligence, police operatives attached to Maje Division intercepted one Richard Maiungwan Dikko, 27, of Bumburu village, Gwagwalada, Abuja, along the Kwamba Antenna area of Suleja with a Bajaj motorcycle.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Dikko entered a shop pretending to buy items but stole the shop attendant’s phone and fled. Upon arrest, five Android phones, including the victim’s, were recovered from him. A follow-up investigation led to the arrest of four suspected receivers:
David Raymond, 29, of PDP Quarters, Suleja
Emmanuel Alfred, 33, of the same area
Izochukwu Raymond, 31, of Kwamba
Tunchi Amos, 28, of Kwamba, Suleja
A search of Richard’s residence yielded a handcuff, jackknife, and other items used by local vigilantes (Civilian JTF). Additionally, eleven Samsung phones and fourteen other mobile phones were recovered from the shop of Emmanuel Alfred in Mararaba, who was identified as David Raymond’s business partner. The phones had no documentation or receipts.
David Raymond confessed that he had purchased over thirty phones from Dikko. Two other motorcycles suspected to have been stolen were also recovered.
All suspects are currently in custody and under investigation.
SP Wasiu Abiodun reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to combating crime across the state and urged residents to continue providing useful information to support police efforts in maintaining law and order.
