Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested six suspected members of a notorious kidnapping syndicate and recovered the full N8.25 million ransom paid by the family of a female victim abducted in Abuja's upscale Maitama district, in an operation that also yielded two fully tinted vehicles and multiple items believed to have been stolen from previous victims. Commissioner of Police Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi disclosed the breakthrough during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, revealing that the gang had been operating along the Kubwa Expressway, Maitama Federal Housing Road, and other parts of the FCT since 2024.
The operation began on 29 June 2026, when the command received a distress call reporting the abduction of a young woman in the Maitama area. According to CP Sanusi, a team from the Command's Violent Crime Response Unit was immediately deployed to track the kidnappers. The suspects later contacted the victim's family and demanded a ransom of N20 million for her release. "Unknown to the suspects, we were already hot on their trail. Our digital tracking revealed that they had taken the victim out of the FCT and kept her in Kwan-Kwashe Village, a remote settlement in Niger State," Sanusi said.
Although the suspects collected N8.25 million from the victim's family before releasing her on 3 July 2026, police operatives sustained the operation and arrested six members of the gang in Suleja, Niger State, on 5 July 2026. The suspects were identified as Ifeoma Nnamchi, 35, alleged to be the gang leader; Peter Rasheed Onwunumah, 40; Olanipekun Anuoluwa, 46; Jemimah Monday, 25; Gabriel Nnamchi, 14; and Stanley Nnamchi, 17. Two of those arrested are children of the gang leader.
Items recovered from the suspects include the full N8.25 million ransom, two fully tinted operational vehicles—a Toyota Corolla with registration number SMK 559 FV and a Toyota Camry with registration number YAB 712 NH—a cutlass, seven pairs of AirPods, several pieces of jewellery suspected to have been stolen from previous victims, five mobile phones, and a laptop. The police commissioner further revealed that investigations showed that the alleged gang leader, Ifeoma Nnamchi, and another suspect, Olanipekun Anuoluwa, had previously been arrested by the FCT Police Command in 2022 and 2019 respectively for similar offences. Despite their previous arrests, Sanusi said the suspects regrouped and resumed criminal activities.
According to the police, the gang confessed that in its five most recent operations, it kidnapped and robbed five female victims and extorted a total of N12.8 million in ransom. In a separate but related operation, the command arrested four additional suspects—Bello Abdullahi, Shuaibu Iliya, Idris Abubakar, and Misbahu Isa—alleged to be suppliers of ammunition and illicit drugs to bandits. One of the suspects, Misbahu Isa, led investigators to Zuba Motor Park where 42 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition were recovered from his vehicle. Investigators alleged that Isa supplied ammunition to kidnappers and bandits operating in Niger, Kaduna, and Kogi states, claiming he recently delivered over 20,000 rounds of ammunition and received N3 million for the transaction.
Other items recovered during the separate operations included bottles of codeine-based syrups, cannabis, tramadol tablets and capsules, cash, a Tecno phone, and assorted clothing. The command also announced that intelligence-led raids on identified criminal black spots across the FCT within the past week resulted in the arrest of 560 suspects, with items recovered including a locally fabricated pistol, a locally made AK-47 rifle, and three rounds of 9mm live ammunition.
The Commissioner of Police warned the public against the use of tinted glasses on vehicles, stating that criminal elements have been using such vehicles for their nefarious activities. He said the suspects remain in police custody and will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations. Sanusi assured residents that the command would sustain its operations against criminal networks and urged members of the public to continue providing credible information.
The arrests mark a significant victory in the fight against kidnapping and organised crime in the Federal Capital Territory, demonstrating the effectiveness of intelligence-led policing and digital tracking in dismantling criminal syndicates. The recovery of the full ransom also underscores the command's commitment to ensuring that crime does not pay. As the suspects await arraignment, residents of Abuja and its environs can take some comfort in knowing that one of the most notorious kidnapping syndicates operating in the nation's capital has been taken off the streets.
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