…rescue 23 foreign victims
By Sarah NEGEDU
Operatives of the FCT Police Command said they have dismantled a cross-border kidnapping and human trafficking syndicate operating between some West African countries, including Nigeria.
This followed a sting operation carried out by the Command’s elite Scorpion Squad in Mararaba, a border community between the FCT and Nasarawa State.
Police authorities said the operation led to the arrest of 14 suspects and the rescue of 23 foreign nationals who were held captive in Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba.
According to the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, the raid took place around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, 2025, following credible intelligence that exposed a growing cross-border criminal network stretching across Mali, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria.
She said the victims were lured into Nigeria with promises of lucrative employment, but were instead kidnapped and detained while their captors demanded ransom from families abroad through WhatsApp and other online channels.
“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 Côte 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 reportedly demanded four million CFA (about ₦10 million) for each victim, who were trafficked through illegal border routes over a three-day journey before being confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under harsh and inhumane conditions.
Acting on what police described as “actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence,” the Scorpion Squad stormed the hideout where they arrested 14 suspects and rescued all 23 victims, “comprising fourteen (14) males, eight (8) females, and one (1) child, all unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for medical attention.”
The arrested suspects were identified as Bubakari Cisse (40), Karamogo Dembele (25), Musa Kamsoko (23), Amadou Traore (25), Sareba Traore (24), Zoumana Diara (23), Umar Koulibaly (26), Alasgara Sagara (20), Berthe Saidu (23), Abdullahi Napo (32), Isah Goita (26), Lorita Traore (22), Mohammed Siaaibe (23), and Haruna Dembele (37).
The FCT Police Command confirmed that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the principal suspect, Abubakar Jigiba, and his brother Sougule Zoubere, who are currently at large.
Commissioner of Police, FCT, CP Miller G. Dantawaye, commended the Scorpion Squad for the swift and coordinated operation, and called on residents to remain alert and report suspicious movements through the Command’s emergency numbers: 08032003913, 08028940883, and CRU 08107314192.
