Police arrests suspected abductors of US national

Police on Thursday confirmed the arrest of two members of a trans-national kidnap syndicate involved in the abduction of a United States citizen, Philippe Nathan Walton, at his farm in Masalata Village, Niger Republic, in October.

The US Special Forces rescued the 27-year-old hostage in the Northern part of Nigeria on October 31.

The Force Spokesman, Frank Mbah, who confirmed the development in a statement in Abuja, said the suspects, Aliyu Abdullahi and Aliyu Umaru were arrested by police operatives on November 25.

The statement read: “The two suspects who were members of a 15-man kidnap gang of Nigerian/Nigerien extraction led by Barte Dan Alhaji and Dan Buda were arrested by police operatives following a special intelligence-led operation aimed at arresting the criminal gang, disrupting and halting other criminal activities by them.

“Investigations by the Intelligence Response Team revealed that the gang was plotting other abductions to avenge the death of their cohorts – four Nigeriens and 2 Nigerians who died during the rescue operations.”

READ ALSO: US forces rescue abducted national in Nigeria

Mba said the Force is collaborating with its Nigerien counterpart in the investigations to apprehend other members of the transnational syndicate currently at large.

“Meanwhile, as part of efforts at tackling transnational crimes, the Inspector- General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, is working in concert with other members of the West African Police Chiefs Organization (WAPCO) to deepen intelligence sharing amongst security agencies in the ECOWAS sub-region and strengthen security along the international borders of member states. The suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now