Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested two members of a trans-national kidnap syndicate involved in the kidnap of an American Citizen, Philippe Nathan Walton.
The American citizen was kidnapped on 28th October, 2020 at his farm in Masalata Village, Republic of Niger.
According to a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters Abuja, DCP Frank Mba, the suspects, Aliyu Abdullahi ‘m’ 21yrs also known as Mallam and Aliyu Umaru ‘m’ 23yrs also known as Kwatte Kusu, both from Sokoto State, were arrested on 25th November, 2020.
Mba said the two suspects were members of a 15-man kidnap gang of Nigerian/Nigerien extraction, led by Barte Dan Alhaji and Dan Buda.
He said they were arrested following a special intelligence-led operation aimed at arresting the criminal gang, disrupting and halting other criminal activities by them.
Mba added that investigations by the Intelligence Response Team revealed that the gang was plotting other abductions to avenge the death of their cohorts – four Nigeriens and two Nigerians who died during the rescue operations.
He said the Force was 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, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, is working in concert with other members of the West African Police Chiefs Organization (WAPCO) to deepen intelligence sharing among security agencies in the ECOWAS sub-region and strengthen security along the international borders of member States.
Mba said the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.
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