The Yobe Police Command has arrested four suspects over alleged abduction and fraud.
The command’s spokesman, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, stating that officers also rescued a victim in Potiskum.
He said operatives of the Potiskum Divisional Police Headquarters, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a suspicious Toyota Prado SUV on February 16 at about 10:30 p.m. in Potiskum.
Mr Abdulkarim said the operation led to the rescue of Abdulhamid Garba, 35, from the Nayi-Nawa area in Damaturu.
According to him, a preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was allegedly abducted in Damaturu by the suspects, who posed as security operatives.
He said the suspects allegedly raised false allegations of graft against the victim to unlawfully detain, intimidate, and extort him.
“They forcefully conveyed him toward Potiskum in a hired vehicle before their arrest,” he said.
The spokesman identified the suspects as Mohammed Usman, 32; Kabiru Ibrahim Umar, 42; Idriss Abdullahi Zakaria, 27; and Matthew Obata, 21.
He said investigations showed that the suspects allegedly specialised in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public, particularly merchants, by disguising themselves as security personnel.
Mr Abdulkarim said the suspects claimed to be staff of Transworld Private Security Guard, Kano.
He said the suspects allegedly hired the Toyota Prado SUV from a Kano-based company at a cost of N400,000 for the operation and concealed its registration number to evade detection.
The spokesman added that the suspects allegedly demanded N10 million ransom from the victim’s relatives.
He said detectives arrested the suspects at A.U. Kaifayi Filling Station, along Potiskum–Kano Road in Potiskum Local Government Area.
Mr Abdulkarim said the victim was rescued unharmed and taken to Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Potiskum, for medical examination.
He said the suspects had confessed to the crime and were in police custody, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
The state commissioner of police, Emmanuel Ado, reassured residents of the command’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property.
He urged the public to provide timely and credible information to security agencies.
(NAN)