NIGERIA: FCT Police Arrests Six-Man ‘One Chance’ Syndicate, Recovers N8.25m Ransom, Weapons, Others

By Onoja Baba

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested a six-member kidnapping and armed robbery “one chance” syndicate, recovering N8.25 million ransom paid by a victim’s family, alongside vehicles, weapons and other exhibits.

The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ahmed Mohammed Sanusi, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters, Abuja, where he highlighted recent anti-crime operations carried out across the territory.

According to Sanusi, the arrest followed a distress call received on June 29, 2026, over the alleged abduction of a young woman in the Maitama area of Abuja.

He said the suspects later contacted the victim’s family and demanded N20 million ransom, adding that police operatives deployed from the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit tracked the criminals through digital intelligence.

The police commissioner said the suspects moved the victim to Kwan-kwashe Village in Niger State, where she was held before collecting N8.25 million ransom and releasing her on July 3.

He explained that police operatives continued monitoring the syndicate until July 5, when six members of the gang were arrested in Suleja, Niger State.

Those arrested 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.

The police recovered N8.25 million believed to be the ransom collected from the victim’s family, two tinted operational vehicles, including a Toyota Corolla and Toyota Camry, a cutlass, seven earpods, suspected stolen jewellery, five mobile phones and a laptop.

Sanusi revealed that investigations showed that Nnamchi and Anuoluwa were repeat offenders who had previously been arrested by the FCT Police Command in 2022 and 2019 respectively for similar offences.

He said the syndicate had been operating along Kubwa Expressway, Maitama Federal Housing Road and other locations within the FCT since 2024.

“The suspects revealed that they had carried out several other ‘one chance’ operations, including the kidnapping and robbery of five female victims, from whom they collected ransom amounting to N12.8 million,” the commissioner stated.

He added that the suspects remained in police custody and would be charged to court after the conclusion of investigations.

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command also announced the arrest of four suspected kidnappers and alleged suppliers of ammunition and illicit substances to criminal groups operating around the FCT and neighbouring states.

The suspects, identified as Bello Abdullahi, Shuaibu Iliya, Idris Abubakar and Misbahu Isa, were arrested on July 5 during a clearance operation around Kwali, Abaji and Kuje Area Councils.

Sanusi said the operation, conducted by the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit and other security personnel, led to the destruction of criminal hideouts, including caves located in Nago Forest, Kuje Area Council.

He said one of the suspects, Misbahu Isa, led operatives to Zuba Motor Park, where 42 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered from his Volkswagen Golf vehicle.

According to the commissioner, investigations revealed that Isa was an arms dealer allegedly supplying ammunition to kidnappers in Niger, Kaduna and Kogi states.

He alleged that the suspect recently supplied more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition to wanted bandits and kidnappers and received N3 million as payment.

Other exhibits recovered from the suspects included suspected illicit drugs such as codeine-based syrups, cannabis sativa, tramadol tablets and capsules, cash of N170,000, mobile phones and ammunition magazines.

The police commissioner further disclosed that the Command had raided identified criminal black spots across the FCT through intelligence gathering and community policing efforts.

He said the operations led to the arrest of 560 suspects and the recovery of arms, ammunition and illicit substances.

Recovered items from the raids included a locally fabricated pistol, a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle and three rounds of live 9mm ammunition.

Sanusi assured residents that the Command would continue sustained operations to flush out criminal elements from the Federal Capital Territory.

He urged members of the public to continue providing timely and useful information to security agencies to support efforts aimed at protecting lives and property across the FCT.