The Niger State Police Command has arrested 9 people in Minna on suspicion of orchestrating a self-kidnapping scheme, as a part of an investigation that led to the restoration of 21 SIM playing cards and 29 SIM registration certificates.
The arrests had been introduced in an announcement issued by the command’s spokesman, SP Wasiu Abiodun.
In line with the assertion, the investigation started on September 2, 2025, after the Tudun-Wada Division obtained a report of a suspected kidnapping within the Mandela space of Minna. A follow-up communication from an unfamiliar cellphone quantity demanded a ransom of seven million naira.
SP Abiodun mentioned the primary arrest occurred on September 3, when Suleiman Dauda was taken into custody. “Throughout interrogation, Suleiman Dauda led investigators to eight different suspects within the Mandela space,” he defined.
The police reported that Suleiman claimed to be engaged in SIM card registration, and that the cellphone quantity and handset used to request the ransom had been offered to the purported sufferer by him.
“Throughout a search, we recovered 21 SIM playing cards and 29 SIM certificates from Suleiman Dauda,” the assertion added.
Additional investigation indicated that the suspects, who hail from varied areas inside and out of doors Niger State, had been working a fraudulent scheme involving Ponzi-style actions.
Authorities found that one of many suspects had conspired with the purported sufferer to extract ransom from their associates.
“The suspects at the moment are going through fees in courtroom, and investigations are ongoing to establish and apprehend extra people concerned on this scheme,” SP Abiodun mentioned.
The case underscores legislation enforcement issues about rising tendencies in self-orchestrated kidnappings and the misuse of telecommunications assets for monetary fraud within the state.
