This was disclosed in a statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer Josephine Adeh, stating that the intelligence-led operation took place 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 and upon arrival, they were held hostage by their abductors, who demanded ransom payments from their families via WhatsApp and other online platforms.

FCT police authorities said 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 while his younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, handles the recruitment, kidnapping, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they are detained pending ransom payments.

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“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 number of twenty-three (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 police said.

Source: Channels