By Mardiyyah Abubakar
The Nigeria Police Force has arrested seven suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate operating in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna State and recovered the body of a woman abducted in Kuje, Abuja.
The victim, Oluwadamilola Adedayo, was abducted alongside her mother, Nancy Adedayo, her 12-year-old brother, David Adedayo, and their housemaid, Jennifer David, during a gunpoint attack at their residence in Kuchiyako, Kuje, on August 23, 2026.
The police said the suspects released the victim’s mother about an hour after the abduction to arrange ransom payment, while the housemaid and the boy were assaulted and abandoned unconscious in a forest. They later regained consciousness and found their way home.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the Commander of the Force Intelligence Department’s Special Tactical Squad, ACP Godfrey Victor, said operatives arrested two suspects in Rijana community, Kaduna State, before apprehending five others in Sagbon Lugbe, Abuja.
He said the arrests followed an intelligence-led investigation initiated after the police received a petition on October 15, 2026.
According to Victor, operatives subsequently raided the gang’s camp in Tukuba Forest, Kuje, on October 19, where they recovered Adedayo’s decomposing body.
The police commander said the family had paid ₦16.2 million for the release of the abducted children, but the suspects allegedly demanded an additional ₦50 million before releasing Oluwadamilola.
The suspects were identified as Ishaka Abdullahi, 27, also known as Langalanga; Abdullahi Dabo, 42; Abubakar Jibrin, 20, also known as Mai-Laya; Barahu Ibrahim, 24, also known as Black; Sani Mohammed, 24; Alidu Lawal, 18, also known as De Jaguar; and Yakubu Abubakar, 28, also known as Soldier.
Items recovered during the operation included four AK-47 rifles, a locally made revolver pistol, 63 rounds of live ammunition, a mobile phone allegedly used for ransom negotiations, ₦400,000 and a motorcycle.
Victor added that investigations had linked the syndicate to the abduction of a businessman, John Ali, in Kuje on September 24.
The victim’s father expressed appreciation to the Inspector-General of Police and the officers involved in the investigation, while calling for justice for his daughter.
