BY EVELYN DADU, ABUJA – Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested two members of a trans-national kidnap syndicate involved in the kidnap of an American Citizen, Philippe Nathan Walton, on 28th October, 2020.
Walton was abducted from his farm in Masalata Village, Republic of Niger by the two arrested suspects, Aliyu Abdullahi ‘m’ 21yrs a.k.a Mallam and Aliyu Umaru ‘m’ 23yrs a.k.a Kwatte Kusu, both from Sokoto State.
A statement by the Force Public Relation Officer, DCP Frank Mba, said that the two suspects arrested on November 25, 2020 are members of a 15-man kidnap gang of Nigerian/Nigerien extraction, led by Barte Dan Alhaji and Dan Buda.
Mba said that they were arrested following a special intelligence-led operation aimed at arresting the criminal gang, disrupting and halting other criminal activities by them.
According to the Force spokesman; “Investigations by the Intelligence Response Team reveal 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 Force is collaborating with its Nigerien counterpart in the investigations to apprehend other members of the transnational syndicate currently at large”.
Meanwhile, DCP Mba said that as part of efforts at tackling transnational crimes, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, is working in concert with other members of the West African Police Chiefs Organization (WAPCO) to deepen intelligence sharing amongst security agencies in the ECOWAS sub-region and strengthen security along the international borders of member States.
Mba said that the suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.
