Police Arrest Fake EFCC Operatives Who Abducted, Robbed IBB University Students In Niger

The Niger State Police Command has arrested three suspects who posed as operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to abduct and rob students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) University, Lapai.

In a statement issued on Friday in Minna, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed that two informants who allegedly aided the crime were also apprehended.

According to Abiodun, the suspects stormed an off-campus student lodge around 8:00 p.m. on May 13, impersonating EFCC officials. They reportedly abducted two students and fled the scene in a Toyota Corolla with registration number ABJ 245 CU.

He said operatives from the Lapai Division swiftly responded and trailed the suspects to Suleja Road, near Kwakuti, where three of the assailants were arrested.

The suspects were identified as Emmanuel Linus, 30, of Deidei; Hyelda Aliyu, 28, of Nyanya; and Abduljallid Tanko, 33, of Karu—all residents of Abuja. One other suspect, identified as Alfa James, reportedly escaped and remains at large.

“During the operation, the suspects brandished three electric tasers disguised as firearms, entered one of the students’ rooms, and stole five mobile phones before abducting two students,” Abiodun said.

He added that the suspects initially demanded a ransom of N10 million but later negotiated it down to N500,000 before their arrest.

“They also confessed that the fake EFCC ID cards used in the operation were produced at a shop in Nyanya, Abuja, and all bore the same identification number — 1069,” the police spokesman noted.

The two informants — Mohammed Hassan and Hamisu Adamu, both of Angwan-Hausa in Lapai — allegedly provided insider information that facilitated the attack. One of the main suspects, Emmanuel Linus, reportedly had prior ties with the informants and has been identified as a dismissed soldier with a criminal history, including a previous conviction two years ago.

Abiodun said the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation, and the suspects will be charged to court upon conclusion of the inquiry.