- Suspects to be arraigned in court
The Nigeria Police on Thursday said its operatives have arrested two members of a trans-national kidnap syndicate involved in the kidnap of American Citizen, Philippe Nathan Walton, on 28th October, 2020 at his farm in Masalata Village, Republic of Niger.
Walton was later rescued by American elite SEALS group in a daring operation within Nigeria territory where the kidnappers had held him in “safe territory.”
The Police said that 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 25th November, 2020.
According to Police Spokesperson, Mr Frank Mbah, “the two (2) 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 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, as part of efforts at tackling transnational crimes, the Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni 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.
“The suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigations.”
