The Borno State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped seven-year-old boy, arrested five suspects and recovered part of the ransom paid by the victim’s family.
The command disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, in Maiduguri.
According to the statement, the incident was reported on March 24 at about 3:30 p.m. at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Maiduguri, by a resident of Chad Basin area, who said his seven-year-old son had been kidnapped on March 23 at about 6:40 p.m. by unknown persons.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects contacted the victim’s mother using a concealed GSM number and initially demanded a ransom of ₦10 million, which was later negotiated to ₦8 million.
The police said a sum of ₦1.5 million was subsequently paid into a Point-of-Sale (POS) account provided by the suspects.
Detectives, through digital forensic analysis, traced the transaction to one Musa Mohammed Bashir, a POS operator, whose account was allegedly used to receive the ransom.
Further coordinated operations led to the arrest of four additional suspects identified as Ali Adam, also known as Abba, 24; Abubakar Sadiq, 29; Abba Goni Abba, 18; and Mohammed Musa, also known as Ale Mamman, 18, all residents of Chad Basin and Bulabulin Alajiri areas of Maiduguri.
The police confirmed that the victim was rescued unhurt and taken to hospital for medical evaluation before being safely reunited with his family.
The sum of ₦1.5 million paid as ransom was also recovered, while investigations into the case are ongoing. The suspects are expected to be charged to court upon conclusion of investigations.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Abdulmajid, commended the detectives for the swift response and breakthrough in the case.
He reassured residents of the command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and urged members of the public to remain vigilant and provide timely and actionable information to security agencies.
The command also advised residents to report suspicious movements or activities to the nearest police station.
