The Niger State Police Command has arrested two men for the abduction and killing of a 10-year-old boy in Mariga Local Government Area, while also apprehending three suspected motorcycle thieves in Kontagora.
Police spokesman SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement on Wednesday, said the case began on July 24, 2025, when young Yaseer Mustapha of Kwana-Mariga was kidnapped. His guardian received a call demanding ₦3.5 million ransom but managed to raise only ₦100,000, which was paid into an account provided by the abductors. An additional ₦10,000 was later demanded, yet the boy was not released.
Realising the situation was worsening, the guardian reported to the police in September. Operatives trailed and arrested Abdulmajid Dan-Azumi, 32, whose confession led to the arrest of 18-year-old Abdulnafiu Usman.
“The suspects confessed to the crime, and unfortunately, they killed the boy and buried him in an uncompleted building within the neighbourhood. The operatives were led to the scene, where the decomposed body was recovered and later released to the family for burial,” Abiodun said. Both men have been charged in court.
In a separate development, operatives in Kontagora arrested three suspects for stealing and dismantling a Bajaj motorcycle. A patrol team intercepted two suspects along Kontagora–Yauri Road on September 23.
“The officers flagged down the suspects, who refused to stop, but were chased and eventually arrested. A spot search on them led to the recovery of dismantled parts of a Bajaj motorcycle concealed in a sack,” Abiodun explained.
The suspects, identified as Jibril Musa (24), Ahmed Tiamiyu, and their accomplice Elijah Ochoba (20), are in custody and under investigation.
Arrested suspects in motorcycle theft. Photo credit: Niger police command
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