Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Police Force INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) Abuja has successfully recovered and repatriated two vehicles that were snatched at gunpoint from their drivers in the Federal Capital Territory and trafficked to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in a cross-border operation that also led to the arrest of one suspect in the Sahel nation. The operation, carried out under the leadership of Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu, recovered a 2018 model Lexus SUV and a 2025 model Toyota Hilux, which were formally handed over to their rightful owners on Monday, July 27, 2026, following weeks of intensive international police cooperation.
The Lexus SUV was snatched on August 3, 2025, while the Toyota Hilux was similarly dispossessed on February 20, 2026, according to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, on Monday. The recovery operation was triggered following requests for assistance from the Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Energy and, separately, the Office of the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, whose officials had been victims of the armed robberies. INTERPOL NCB Abuja immediately activated its cooperation channels with INTERPOL NCB Ouagadougou to trace and recover the stolen vehicles, leveraging the international police organisation's global network to track the vehicles across borders.
Through the coordinated efforts of the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina Faso, and intelligence counterparts at NCB Ouagadougou, both vehicles were successfully traced to Burkina Faso's capital, recovered, and repatriated to Nigeria. The vehicles have since been formally handed over to representatives of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the Office of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, bringing relief to the owners who had lost the vehicles in violent armed robberies months earlier.
In the course of the operation, one suspect, Issoufou Nagimou, was arrested and has been charged before the High Court of Burkina Faso. Nigerian authorities did not indicate whether further arrests were expected in Nigeria, but the statement suggested that the syndicate involved in the cross-border trafficking operated within Nigeria and the broader Sahel region. The Nigeria Police Force reaffirmed its commitment to deepening international police cooperation through the INTERPOL platform and to relentlessly pursuing criminal syndicates involved in cross-border vehicle trafficking, in furtherance of its mandate to protect lives and property.
The recovery operation highlights the growing challenge of cross-border vehicle trafficking in West Africa, where stolen vehicles from Nigeria are frequently smuggled through porous borders to neighbouring countries, including Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Benin Republic. Criminal syndicates have increasingly turned to this illicit trade as a lucrative source of revenue, often using sophisticated networks to alter vehicle identification numbers, forge documents, and transport stolen vehicles across international boundaries. The involvement of INTERPOL's NCB network in this case underscores the importance of international cooperation in tackling transnational organised crime, particularly in the Sahel region, where security challenges have created fertile ground for criminal networks to operate.
The Nigeria Police Force has in recent years intensified efforts to combat vehicle theft and trafficking, leveraging technology, intelligence sharing, and international partnerships. The success of this operation is expected to boost confidence among vehicle owners and encourage greater cooperation between Nigerian authorities and their counterparts in the region. The Force Public Relations Officer reiterated the commitment of the Inspector-General of Police to protecting lives and property, stressing that the police would continue to pursue criminal syndicates involved in cross-border trafficking with the full weight of the law. As the suspect faces trial in Burkina Faso, Nigerian authorities are expected to continue their investigation into the broader network behind the trafficking, with the hope of dismantling the syndicate and preventing future incidents.
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