The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested two members of a trans-national kidnap syndicate involved in the kidnap of an American Citizen, Philippe Nathan Walton, on October 28, 2020 at his farm in Masalata Village, Republic of Niger.
The suspects, Aliyu Abdullahi ‘m’ 21yrs a.k.a Mallam and Aliyu Umaru ‘m’ 23yrs a.k.a Kwatte Kusu, both from Sokoto State, were arrested on November 25, 2020.
The police said the suspects, members of a 15-man kidnap gang of Nigerian/Nigerien extraction, led by Barte Dan Alhaji and Dan Buda were arrested following a special intelligence-led operation aimed at arresting the criminal gang, disrupting and halting other criminal activities by them.
Investigations by the Intelligence Response Team revealed that the gang was plotting other abductions to avenge the death of their cohorts – 4 Nigeriens and 2 Nigerians who died during the rescue operations.
The Nigerian Force said it is collaborating with its Nigerien counterpart in the investigations to apprehend other members of the transnational syndicate currently at large.
The suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.
