Family feud turns criminal: Man arrested for kidnapping niece, nephew in Bauchi

The Bauchi State Police Command announces that it has  arrested a suspected kidnapper and safely rescued two minors who were abducted in Tilden Fulani, Toro Local Government Area of the state.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, said the incident occurred on Thursday, 23 October 2025, when one Aliyu Hamisu of Tilden Fulani reported to the Divisional Police Headquarters that his children, 12-year-old Halima Hamisu and six-year-old Mohammed Aliyu Hamisu, had been kidnapped by an unidentified man while waiting for their school bus along the main road in Tilden town.

“Upon receiving the report, detectives led by the Divisional Police Officer, Kisaba Rimamnyang, immediately swung into action, visited the scene, and initiated a thorough criminal investigation,” Wakil stated.

Preliminary findings indicated that an eyewitness had seen a man on a tricycle pick up the two children. The suspect later contacted the victims’ family, demanding a ransom of ₦50 million through a foreign phone number to avoid being traced.

“After negotiation, he agreed to collect ₦1.2 million, to be delivered around Farmers Motors Junction in Bauchi,” Wakil added.

He said, acting on credible intelligence, police operatives strategically cordoned off the area and arrested the suspect while he was attempting to collect the ransom.

Further investigation led officers to Anguwan Rukuba in Jos, Plateau State, where the two abducted children were found safe and subsequently reunited with their parents.

The statement said Wakil identified the suspect as Abdulkarim Tasiu, a relative of the victims, who confessed to the crime and cited a long-standing family grievance against his uncle as his motive.