The Katsina State Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old boy in Dankama town, Kaita Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the victim, one Salihu Sadi, a male, was kidnapped on January 11, 2025, at about 20:00 hrs while on an errand to a nearby pharmacy for his mother.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, while parading the suspects before the Command Headquarters on Wednesday, noted that the suspected kidnappers, later on the same day at about 21:00 hrs, contacted the family via phone call, demanding a ransom of N25 million.
Sadiq said that despite efforts from the family to negotiate, the kidnappers refused to release the boy and eventually killed him, abandoning his lifeless body, which was later found on the outskirts of Dankama town.
“Upon receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, CP Aliyu Abubakar Musa, detailed the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU) for a thorough investigation.
“During the investigation, the operatives on January 13, 2025, successfully identified and apprehended two suspects: (1) Muttaka Garba alias Auta, male, age 24, and (2) Yusuf Usman alias Kwalwa, male, age 20, who confessed to committing the crime.
“The command has recovered the phone used to make the ransom demand as part of exhibits in the ongoing investigation. The suspects will be charged to court for prosecution as soon as the investigations are concluded,” he added.
According to him, their arrest is part of the major successes recorded by the command within the week under review, where a total of 26 suspects were paraded for various crimes before the Command Headquarters in Katsina.