The Edo State Police Command has arrested 52-year-old Islamic teacher Jubril Ibrahim and four suspected kidnappers over alleged involvement in kidnapping activities across parts of Edo State, with the suspects paraded in Benin City on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
The suspects were among 11 people paraded at the command headquarters by the Commissioner of Police, Patrick Daor, as the police outlined several cases arising from recent intelligence-led operations.
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According to the command, Ibrahim allegedly prepared charms for suspected kidnappers operating in Edo North Senatorial District, particularly around Auchi, Jattu and Okpella.
Daor said the four suspected kidnappers were arrested in Niger State following intelligence gathered by operatives of the command.
Ibrahim, however, denied preparing charms for the suspects and maintained that his involvement was limited to offering prayers for one of them at the request of the man’s mother.
“I gather Almajiri and teach them the Qur’an. So, Ahmadu Suleiman’s mother came to me and said I should be praying for her son, that he travels a lot, so I should pray for him to have a safe trip to and from, and that is what I have been doing,” he said through an interpreter.
The Islamic teacher acknowledged that he knew Suleiman possessed an AK-47 rifle but insisted that he was unaware of any kidnapping activities.
Suleiman, 24, gave police a different account of his activities, admitting that he had participated in a kidnapping operation in Auchi and had previously worked with different kidnapping groups before returning to Niger State.
He described how the gang allegedly selected homes they considered wealthy before abducting residents for ransom.
“When we get to the community, we look for a beautiful house and shoot into the air, and in the process of scampering for their lives, they run out, and we hold them and take them to the bush, and demand for money,” Suleiman said.
The suspect claimed that he received N1 million from the Auchi operation, which he described as the only kidnapping incident he took part in within the area.
He also told investigators that the gang did not depend on informants to identify victims.
Instead, according to his account, members selected potential targets by looking for visible signs of wealth, including expensive vehicles and large buildings.
The police did not indicate in the briefing whether Ibrahim had been formally charged in court or provide further details about the evidence being relied upon against him.
The arrests form part of the Edo Command’s wider efforts to disrupt criminal networks operating within and beyond the state.
The command also paraded a 21-year-old suspect accused of stealing a baby in Benin City and displayed a recovered vehicle linked to one of the operations.
Police spokesperson Eno Ikoedem attributed the arrests to intelligence gathering and appealed to residents to continue providing credible information to security agencies.
The command’s position is that cooperation between residents and security personnel remains essential to identifying criminal networks before they can carry out further attacks.
The contrasting accounts given by Ibrahim and Suleiman will now form part of the investigations as the police work to establish the extent of each suspect’s alleged involvement.
For communities in Edo North, where kidnapping has remained a serious security concern, the arrests underscore the continuing effort by security agencies to identify both alleged perpetrators and individuals suspected of supporting criminal operations.
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The suspects remain allegations at this stage, and any eventual determination of guilt will depend on evidence presented through due legal process.
Victory Emmanuel is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
