The Zamfara State Police Command has arrested a 20-year-old man who allegedly masterminding the abduction of his mother and three others and collecting the sum of N30 million as ransom.
This was contained in a statement issued by the state police spokesperson, SP Mohammed Shehu, in Gusau on Friday, February 17, 2023.
Shehu, who identified the suspect as Thomas Yau, said N10 million was paid by each of the kidnap victims, including his mother, totalling N30 million ransom.
He added the case was under investigation and the suspects would be prosecuted.
Shehu said: “On February 12, 2023, the Zamfara Police Command, through its community policing engagement, acted on intelligence information that led to the bursting of a kidnap syndicate and the arrest of six suspected kidnappers, who had been terrorising different villages in Kaduna, Kano and other neighbouring states, such as Zamfara and Sokoto.
“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the suspects carried out a series of kidnappings, where an unspecified number of people were abducted and millions of naira collected as ransom.
“Each suspect further narrated the number of kidnappings he participated in, as well as the role he played in each operation.
“Surprisingly, one of the suspects, Thomas Ya’u, confessed that sometime last year, he masterminded the kidnap of his biological mother and three others.
“They collected the sum of N30m from the relations as ransom, and in turn, he was given one million as his share”, the police narrated.
