Katsina police smash notorious syndicate specializing in kidnapping children below 5 for ransom

The Katsina State Police Command has smashed a notorious syndicate specializing in kidnapping children below 5 for ransom. 

The spokesperson for the command, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, who disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 said detectives successfully rescued a 3-year-old victim unhurt and arrested some suspects. 

According to the PPRO, the breakthrough followed a report on October 5, 2026, by one Abubakar Ahmed Rufa’i that his four-and-a-half-year-old son, Muhammed Abubakar, was abducted on September 30. 

The kidnappers initially demanded N5 million ransom but later accepted N20,000 as “feeding money” paid through a POS terminal.

"The Katsina State Police Command has successfully smashed a notorious criminal syndicate that specializes in the kidnapping of children below the age of 5 for ransom,” the statement read.

"On October 5, 2026, at about 4:30 PM, one Abubakar Ahmed Rufa'i, 'm', reported at the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), Katsina, that his 4½-year-old son, Muhammed Abubakar, was kidnapped on September 30, 2026. 

"The kidnappers contacted him via telephone and initially demanded a five-million-naira ransom, but later agreed to accept twenty thousand naira as "feeding money" for the child prior to his release, which was paid through Point-of-Sale (POS) accounts.

"Operatives immediately swung into action, leading to the arrest of two POS operators who received and cashed the funds: 1. Abubakar Muntari, ‘m’ 2. Aminu Idris, ‘m’.

"While the investigation was ongoing, a second report was received on October 8, 2026, at about 10:22 AM from one Abdulrahaman Bello, 'm', stating that his 3-year-old son, Yakubu Abdulrahman, was missing. 

He further reported receiving phone calls from the abductors demanding a ransom, alongside an additional sum of one hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) as feeding money for the hostage.

"Connecting both incidents to the same criminal network through technical analysis, detectives executed a swift sting operation on October 8, 2026, at about 10:15 PM.

"This led to the arrest of Abdulhakim Mustapha, aged 16, right at the POS terminal while attempting to collect the money. 

"Upon confrontation, the suspect was positively identified by the previously detained POS operators as the same individual who collected the feeding money in the first case before the victim's release.

"The suspect confessed to the crimes and led the investigation team to their hideout, where detectives successfully rescued the 3-year-old victim, Yakubu Abdulrahman, unhurt.

"During the raid on the hideout, a key co-conspirator, Aminu Musa, 'm', aged 20, who kept and guarded the victim while coordinating ransom negotiations, was arrested.

"The operational SIM card used in negotiating the ransoms was successfully recovered during the operation.

"During interrogation, the suspects confessed to conspiring with the following gang members who are currently at large: 1. Ibrahim, ‘m’ 2. Mohammed (a.k.a. Malam), 'm'

"Efforts and investigations are actively in progress to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspects and track down all accomplices.

"The Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, CP Ali Umar Fage, psc(+), mnips, reiterates the Command's firm determination to deal decisively with criminals targeting vulnerable minors. 

“He urges financial service agents and POS operators to strictly verify customer identities and promptly report suspicious transactions to the nearest police station."