The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested and charged a 24-year-old Nigerian, Damilola Bamigboye, over the alleged kidnapping of a Department of Homeland Security Investigations agent in an attempt to evade deportation proceedings in the United Sates.
According to court documents reviewed by reporters, the incident occurred on December 10 in Plymouth, Minnesota, when federal agents moved to arrest Bamigboye over allegations that he had overstayed his student visa.
What authorities described as a routine immigration enforcement operation allegedly escalated into a hostage situation involving a federal officer.
Investigators said agents were conducting surveillance on Bamigboye’s apartment from an unmarked vehicle fitted with emergency lights and sirens when a Jeep SUV pulled up beside the suspect’s Kia Optima.
Bamigboye was identified as a passenger in the vehicle, while Rekeya Frazier, believed to be his girlfriend, was driving.
The FBI said Bamigboye appeared to notice the agents, put on a face mask to conceal his identity, and moved from the front seat to the back.
As agents approached, flashing their badges and identifying themselves as law enforcement officers, Bamigboye allegedly became uncooperative after learning the encounter concerned his immigration status.
According to the FBI, Bamigboye then grabbed the driver’s headrest and ordered Frazier to flee.
“He yelled at Frazier, ‘Drive! Drive! Drive! Get in the car and drive now,’ or words to that effect,” FBI Special Agent Terry Getsch wrote in a report submitted to U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz.
As the vehicle sped off, one agent was forced to jump out to avoid being injured, while another remained trapped inside the Jeep as it drove away, effectively being carried against his will.
The FBI said the agent repeatedly ordered Frazier to stop the vehicle, warning that her actions would worsen the situation.
The agent, who was on temporary assignment in Minnesota and unfamiliar with the area, feared he was being abducted. Despite attempts to stop the vehicle, Frazier allegedly resisted, threatened to crash the car, and refused to pull over.
The chase ended outside the New Hope Police Department, about two miles from the suspect’s residence. As the vehicle slowed to park, Bamigboye jumped out and fled into a nearby grocery store, where he was later apprehended by federal agents.
Frazier was also taken into custody after initially refusing to exit the vehicle. The FBI said Bamigboye later admitted to struggling with a federal agent and instructing Frazier to drive away but denied that officers properly identified themselves.
He claimed his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a previous kidnapping while living in Nigeria.
The FBI said it has probable cause to believe that Bamigboye and Frazier violated Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 111, which covers assault on a federal officer with intent to commit another felony.
Bamigboye has since been arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and remains in custody as legal proceedings continued.