The Borno State Police Command has rescue a seven-year-old boy abducted in Maiduguri, while apprehending five suspects allegedly connected to the crime.
The command’s spokesperson, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that part of the ransom paid by the victim’s family was also recovered.
Daso said the rescue followed a coordinated investigation by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department in Maiduguri.
According to him, the incident was reported on March 24, 2026, after a resident of the Chad Basin area informed the police that his son had been kidnapped a day earlier at about 6:40 p.m. by unknown persons.
Preliminary findings revealed that the abductors later contacted the child’s mother through a private phone line and demanded a ransom of N10m, which was negotiated down to N8m.
The family subsequently paid N1.5m into a Point of Sale account provided by the suspects.
The police spokesperson explained that detectives deployed digital forensic tools to trace the account used for the transaction to a POS operator, identified as Musa Mohammed Bashir, whose arrest led to the capture of four other suspects.
Those arrested include Ali Adam, also known as Abba, 24; Abubakar Sadiq, 29; Abba Goni Abba, 18; and Mohammed Musa, also known as Ale Mamman, 18.
He added that the victim was rescued unhurt, taken to a hospital for medical checks, and later reunited with his family.
Daso further stated that the N1.5m ransom earlier paid was successfully recovered from the suspects.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Naziru Abdulmajid, commended the operatives for their prompt response and professionalism, urging residents to remain vigilant and continue to provide useful information to security agencies.