Police in Niger have arrested a 29-year-old man, Godwin Yahaya, over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap and kill a farmer, Jonah Isah, in Zawudna village, Munya Local Government Area of the state.
According to the police, the suspect allegedly contracted a man identified as Bashiru, who is currently at large, in 2024 to abduct Isah, a large-scale farmer, for ransom.
State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that the abduction was eventually carried out on June 26, 2026, when Bashiru and members of his gang allegedly invaded the victim’s residence at about midnight.
The gang reportedly killed Isah and abducted members of his family alongside three other persons.
The abductors were said to have demanded N2.1 million as ransom before releasing the victims.
The police disclosed that the victims, who were recently rescued and released, implicated Yahaya, alleging that the kidnappers identified him as the person who contracted them to carry out the operation.
Abiodun said operatives of the Department of State Services attached to the Kuchi area arrested Yahaya on September 27, 2026, before transferring him to the Sarkin-Pawa Police Division for investigation.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to contracting Bashiru to abduct the farmer so that they could share the ransom proceeds.
The police spokesman further alleged that investigations revealed that Yahaya took over the deceased’s farmland for his personal use after the farmer’s death.
The suspect is currently undergoing further investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Minna, while efforts are ongoing to arrest his alleged accomplices.
The police said the investigation would continue as authorities seek to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing and the alleged kidnapping conspiracy.
