The Borno State Police Command has detained five suspects, including a 20-year-old uncle who allegedly plotted the kidnapping of his eight-year-old niece, administered drugs on her, and coordinated the collection of a ₦3 million ransom paid through cryptocurrency.
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Nahum Daso, disclosed in a statement on Thursday that the arrests were made between November 29 and December 4, 2025, following an intelligence-led investigation ordered by the Commissioner of Police.
The suspects were identified as Mustapha Mohammed (20), Ismail Shuaibu (25), Abdul Mohammed Bulama (23), Amina Ibrahim (19), and Lawan Yusuf Hassan (25).
The statement reads, “The Borno State Police Command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Abdulmajid psc, has recorded another significant breakthrough with the arrest of five suspects in connection with the kidnapping of an eight-year-old girl in Maiduguri, the state capital.
On November 4, 2025, at about 1500hrs, a report was received at the Bulumkutu Police Division regarding the abduction of an eight-year-old girl of Gomari Area, Maiduguri, who was kidnapped while returning home from school.”
The command revealed that the abductors later contacted the child’s family and “demanded a ransom of Three Million Naira (₦3,000,000), which was paid through cryptocurrency.”
The girl was eventually freed on November 7, 2025, after the ransom was delivered.
Daso explained that “upon receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police immediately directed the Command’s Crack Squad to carry out a discreet and intelligence-driven investigation into the matter.”
Following intensive surveillance and digital tracing, the team apprehended the five suspects, who were found to have conspired in the crime.
Preliminary findings indicated that Mustapha Mohammed, an uncle of the victim and resident of Gomari, engineered the plot alongside Shuaibu and Bulama.
Daso added that the suspects waited for the victim on her route from school, ferried her across multiple locations in different tricycles to confuse her, and later changed her outfit after disposing of her school uniform.
He said, “The suspects later took the child to a tailor where she was changed into a new plain dress, after which her school uniform was disposed of.”
The abductors then moved the girl to a hotel along Pompomari Bypass with help from Amina Ibrahim, who allegedly pretended to be Shuaibu’s wife and mother of the child.
Daso continued, “The suspects then proceeded to a hotel along Pompomari Bypass Area of Maiduguri with the assistance of one Amina Ibrahim ‘F’, who falsely presented Ismail Shuaibu and herself as a married couple and parents of the child.”
Investigations further revealed that the girl was drugged and held at the hotel for three days until the ransom was confirmed.
Digital tracking later exposed the role of Lawan Yusuf Hassan, an alleged IT technician, who reportedly received the ransom through his account.
Daso added that “the case remains under active investigation, as efforts are ongoing to recover the ransom and identify other possible accomplices.”
Commissioner Abdulmajid commended the crack squad for the swift operation and reaffirmed the command’s firm stance against kidnapping and related crimes.
“He further warned criminal elements to desist from such acts or face the full weight of the law.
“Further developments will be communicated to the public as investigation progresses,” the statement added.