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, on October 28,2020 at his farm in Masalata Village, Niger Republic.
A statement on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank MB ah, said “the suspects, Aliyu Abdullahi, 21, ‘m’, a.k.a Mallam and Aliyu Umaru,23, ‘m’, a.k.a Kwatte Kusu, both from Sokoto State, were arrested on 25th November, 2020.”
The two suspects, who are members of a 15-man kidnap gang of Nigerian/Nigerien extraction, led by Barte Dan Alhaji and Dan Buda, were arrested 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 reveal 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,” Mbah said.
He added that 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, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni 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 police spokesperson said.
Mbah said the suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.
DCP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA
