Kaduna Police Rescue Three Kidnapped Minors, Arrest Suspects
The Kaduna State Police Command on Tuesday said it had rescued three kidnapped minors from captivity and arrested three suspects, including a teenage boy and another barely out of adolescence.
The command disclosed that the children, Aslam Umar Lukman (14), Suleiman Umar Tanko (12), and Aliyu Umar Tanko (10), were abducted on Monday, August 25, 2025, around 1:45 pm, along Calabar Road by Sabon Layi, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna North, with the kidnappers demanding a ransom of ₦50m from their distraught family.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, who confirmed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday in Kaduna, said the rescue followed a distress report filed by the victims’ father on Tuesday afternoon.
He explained that operatives of the command swung into action immediately after receiving the report, deploying intelligence and tactical communication to track down the suspects.
According to him, the suspected mastermind of the abduction, identified as Richard Philip, was lured out of their hideout and subsequently arrested by the police.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime and revealed that he conspired with Ibrahim Ma’aruf (18) and Abubakar Sadiq (15) to kidnap the children and hide them at his residence,” the statement read.
Acting swiftly on the confession, police operatives stormed the location, rescued the children unhurt, and arrested the two other accomplices.
The police spokesman added that the children had since been reunited with their family by the state Commissioner of Police, CP Rabiu Muhammad.
Hassan quoted the CP as saying that the command remained committed to protecting lives and property across the state.
The statement read, “On 26th August 2025 at about 1500 hrs, a distress report was lodged by a father that his three children, Aslam Umar Lukman (14 yrs), Suleiman Umar Tanko (12 yrs), and Aliyu Umar Tanko (10 yrs), were kidnapped on 25th August 2025 at about 1345 hrs, with the kidnappers demanding a ransom of fifty million naira (₦50,000,000).
“Upon receipt of the report, operatives of the Command, through strategic intelligence gathering and tactical communication, lured one of the suspects, Richard Philip, the Kingpin, out of their hideout, and eventually he was arrested.
“Acting on the credible intelligence, the police swiftly stormed the location, arrested the culprits, and rescued all three victims unhurt.
“The rescued children have since been safely reunited with their families by the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command.
“The Commissioner of Police Rabiu Muhammad reiterates the command’s unwavering commitment to the protection of lives and property, urges parents to be vigilant, and assures the public that all forms of criminality will be met with decisive action.”
Kaduna Police Rescue Three Kidnapped Minors, Arrest Suspects is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
