By Samuel Adeola
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Police Command has arrested a 40-year-old man, Haruna Suleiman, suspected to be the mastermind behind several high-profile kidnappings and extortion cases, including repeated abductions of a prominent Kogi businessman.
According to security analyst Zagazola Makama, Suleiman was apprehended on August 3 at about 7:00 p.m. by operatives of the Scorpion Squad at Giri Junction in Gwagwalada, Abuja, following sustained surveillance and digital tracking.
A native of Danja Local Government Area in Katsina State, Suleiman resides in Giri and is believed to have orchestrated the multiple kidnappings of 79-year-old Alhaji Haruna Isiaku from Lokoja, Kogi State.
The victim was reportedly abducted on several occasions between December 2023 and January 2025, paying a cumulative ransom of ₦21 million, ₦2 million in 2023, ₦7 million and ₦5 million in 2024, and ₦7 million in early 2025.
Makama revealed that the gang contacted the victim again on August 1, demanding an additional ₦10 million and threatening another abduction.
Acting on police advice, the victim played along. While the gang initially instructed that the ransom be dropped at Obajana in Kogi State, the businessman persuaded them to accept a digital transfer.
The suspects then provided a POS account number, which the police traced to Suleiman, resulting in his arrest.
Suleiman has reportedly confessed and is said to have disclosed the identities of other gang members.
