The Yobe State Police Command on Tuesday said it arrested four teenagers for allegedly kidnapping two minors in the Potiskum Local Government Area of the state.

The suspects are Musa Adamu,18, Aliyu Ibrahim,17, Abubakar Zakari,18, and Muhammed Saleh,19.

The command’s spokesman, Dungus Abdulkarim, said the police trailed and arrested the teenagers who attempted to receive ransom from the parents of a 14-year-old boy they had kidnapped in the Nahuta area.

“The 14-year-old boy was with his sister outside their residence when he was lured and whisked away in a vehicle by the suspects on October 12.

“They later demanded N5 million as a ransom for the release of the victim, but the amount was bargained to N200,000 by his parents.

“Investigation reveals that the phone number used in the negotiations was stolen from one Hussaini Abdulazeez, who is currently assisting us in the investigation,” Mr Abdulkarim said.

In a separate incident, the spokesman said Messrs Adamu, Ibrahim, and Zakari had, on September 8, allegedly conspired and kidnapped a four-year-old boy in the Bogojo area of Potiskum.

Mr Abdulkarim said the suspects demanded a ransom of N10 million, which the victim’s family later negotiated to N200,000.

The spokesman said the investigation revealed that the money was paid into the account of an unsuspecting Point of Sale Operator (POS), who had no links with the syndicate.

He said the suspects would be prosecuted after the investigation.

(NAN)