Security operatives on Sunday, May 18, 2025, arrested a wanted notorious kidnapper at the hajj camp in Abuja.
A security source at the hajj camp who confirmed the arrest on condition of anonymity to Forefront News on Sunday, said the suspect was identified and immediately arrested during the screening of pilgrims who were preparing to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia.
The source said that the arrest of the wanted alleged kidnapper, Yahaya Zango followed credible intelligence which prompted enhanced surveillance and internal screening within the camp.
It was also gathered that upon close monitoring and verification, the suspect’s identity was uncovered, and he was immediately taken into custody without incident.
The security source said that the wanted suspected kidnapper, Yahaya Zango, who resided at Paiko-Kore in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was allegedly involved in banditry and kidnapping across parts of northern Nigeria
It was gathered that the wanted kidnapper was declared wanted by security agencies in the FCT following his alleged involvement in some kidnappings.
Further checks indicated that the wanted suspected kidnapper presented his passport alongside other Muslim contingents from Abuja who were on their way to observe this year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia.
Another source who is a senior official of the Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, who does not want his name in print, said that the suspect was picked up during the screening at the hajj camp when one of the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), apprehended Zango, arrested and quickly and whisked him away.
It was gathered that the suspect had been on the run after security agencies launched a manhunt for him.
The arrested suspect is presently undergoing interrogation while further investigations are ongoing to unravel his network and activities.
