Ogun Police foil transnational fake‑kidnapping ring, arrest eight foreign nationals
Abdullateef Fowewe
Detectives attached to Ifo Division of the Ogun State Police Command have dismantled a transnational criminal syndicate that staged fake kidnappings to extort ransom from families abroad, the command said Monday.
According to a statement obtained from Ogun State Police Command, the intelligence‑led operation, led by CSP Olabisi Kamorudeen, the Divisional Police Officer, followed a June 6, 2026 tip-off from a concerned informant.
The informant reported that a 23‑year‑old Mauritanian national, Cheik El‑Mehdi, had contacted his family in May claiming he had been kidnapped in Nigeria and demanding ransom.
“Shortly after, another suspect, Zakaria Zawadogo, reinforced the demand with threats that the victim would be killed if the ransom was not paid,” the police statement said.
Acting on technical intelligence and sustained surveillance, operatives moved on a hideout in Adiyan Town, Agbado Area of Ogun State.
Zakaria Zawadogo, arrested at the scene, led detectives to the syndicate’s base where officers arrested seven others: Cheik El‑Mehdi (23), Zakaria Zawadogo (34), Suren Neta (25), Koffi Breno (36), Gondo Treso (32), Kunuji Ezekiel (27), Kougasi John, and Hemue Blinsi (30).
The suspects are nationals of Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and the Republic of Benin.
Preliminary inquiries, police said, show the scheme was a “coordinated criminal enterprise involving the deliberate staging of a kidnapping scenario to defraud the victim’s family.”
Investigators found that Suren Neta lured Cheik El‑Mehdi into Nigeria, Zakaria Zawadogo coordinated ransom demands and issued threats, and that the purported victim “was also found to have actively participated in the orchestration of the fake abduction.”
The statement added that the principal suspects “have all confessed to their involvement in the conspiracy.”
All detainees were taken into custody and the premises were secured and searched in line with due process.
The matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for discreet further investigation to establish the full extent of the syndicate’s operations and any links to other cross‑border criminal networks.
Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, CP Bode Ojajuni, praised the detectives’ “professionalism, discipline, and swift response,” and said the case “highlights the increasing sophistication of transnational criminal activities” while reaffirming the command’s commitment to proactive policing and intelligence gathering.
He reassured the public that “Ogun State remains a hostile environment for criminal elements” and pledged continued strengthening of internal and cross‑border collaboration to ensure public safety.
