The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has dismantled a transnational kidnapping syndicate that demanded N230 million ransom from foreign nationals lured into Nigeria under the guise of lucrative job offers.
Operatives of the command’s Scorpion Squad launched the sting operation around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State, a border community near Abuja.
Fourteen suspected kidnappers were arrested and 23 foreign nationals rescued in the process.
According to police findings, the victims, all West African nationals, were deceived into travelling to Nigeria by a criminal network posing as employment recruiters.
Upon arrival, the victims were held captive, and the kidnappers demanded ransom from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.
FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said on Friday that investigations identified the ringleader as Abubakar Jigiba, a suspected notorious cross-border criminal with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria.
The syndicate, she explained, demanded four million CFA francs (about N10 million) per person, a total ransom demand of N230 million.
Adeh confirmed that efforts are ongoing to track down the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba, and his brother, Sougule Zoubere, both of whom remain at large.
She said: ‘In a major breakthrough against kidnapping and human trafficking, operatives of the FCT Police Command’s Scorpion Squad have successfully arrested fourteen (14) suspected kidnappers and rescued twenty-three (23) victims, all foreign nationals, from captivity.
‘The intelligence-led operation took place at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 21st October 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba, Nasarawa State.
‘The operation followed a report indicating that several foreign nationals had been lured into Nigeria under the pretext of lucrative job offers. Upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.
‘Preliminary investigation revealed that the syndicate is coordinated by one Abubakar Jigiba, a transnational criminal kingpin with known residences in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments. The group demanded four million CFA (N10,000,000) for each victim.
‘Further investigations revealed that the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes in a journey lasting about three days. They were subsequently confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.
‘Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, the Scorpion Squad traced the hideout to the above address, where a total of twenty-three (23) victims – fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females and one (1) child – were rescued unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for treatment.’