Operatives of the Ifo Division of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested eight foreign nationals over their alleged involvement in a coordinated fake kidnapping scheme designed to extort ransom from unsuspecting families abroad.
Suspects Identified
The suspects were identified as Zakaria Zawadogo, 34, from Burkina Faso; Cheik El-Mehdi, 23, from Mauritania; Suren Neta, 25, from Côte d’Ivoire; Koffi Breno, 36, from Côte d’Ivoire; Gondon Treso, 32, from Côte d’Ivoire; Kunuji Ezekiel, 27, from the Republic of Benin; Kougasi John from Côte d’Ivoire; and Hemue Blinsi, 30, also from Côte d’Ivoire.
The Command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the arrests in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday. Babaseyi said the suspects were arrested during an intelligence-led operation in Adiyan Town, Agbado area of Ogun State, following credible intelligence and sustained surveillance into a reported kidnapping incident later uncovered to be a staged abduction.
How the Scheme Unfolded
According to him, the arrests followed a report received on June 6, 2026, from a concerned informant. He explained that the informant alerted the police that a 23-year-old Mauritanian national, Cheik El-Mehdi, had contacted his family abroad in May 2026, claiming he had been kidnapped in Nigeria and demanding ransom for his release. The police spokesperson added that shortly after, another suspect, Zakaria Zawadogo, reinforced the demand with threats that the victim would be killed if the ransom was not paid.
Upon receiving the complaint, detectives from the Ifo Division immediately launched an intelligence-driven investigation. “This swift response proved decisive in uncovering the location of the suspects and preventing what could have resulted in a successful cross-border financial crime,” Babaseyi said.
Arrests and Confessions
He disclosed that technical intelligence reports revealed that the suspects were operating from a hideout in Adiyan Town, Agbado area of Ogun State. “Acting on this intelligence, operatives were swiftly mobilised to the location, where Zakaria Zawadogo was arrested,” he added. Babaseyi said Zawadogo subsequently led detectives to the syndicate’s hideout, resulting in the arrest of Cheik El-Mehdi, Suren Neta and five other foreign nationals.
He noted that all the suspects were taken into custody, while the premises were secured and thoroughly searched in line with due process. According to preliminary findings, the operation was a coordinated criminal enterprise involving the deliberate staging of a kidnapping scenario to defraud the victim’s family.
“It was further established that Suren Neta lured Cheik El-Mehdi into Nigeria, while Zakaria Zawadogo coordinated the ransom demands and issued threats to compel payment,” he stated. “The purported victim was also found to have actively participated in the orchestration of the fake abduction.”
“The principal suspects, Zakaria Zawadogo, Cheik El-Mehdi and Suren Neta, have all confessed to their involvement in the conspiracy, while further investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the syndicate’s operations and possible links to other transnational criminal networks,” he added.
