- The Katsina State Government has confirmed the arrest of Nura Aliyu Garwa, a former Senior Special Assistant on Community Development, for allegedly masterminding a ruthless kidnapping cell operating in the state capital.
- Police investigations revealed that the 39-year-old former governor’s aide was a direct neighbor to the family of an eight-year-old schoolboy who was abducted while returning home from an Islamic school.
- Clarifying his administrative status, the state government stated that Garwa had already been suspended from his executive role for diverting community empowerment materials before he launched a campaign for the House of Assembly.
The Katsina State Government has confirmed that a former Senior Special Assistant on Community Development, Nura Garwa, who is currently being investigated over alleged involvement in a kidnapping syndicate, had earlier been suspended from office before contesting for a seat in the Katsina State House of Assembly.
In an official administrative brief issued on Sunday, May 24, 2026, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Salisu Zango, firmly distanced the executive leadership from the suspect.
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The statement noted that Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda described the criminal involvement of a high-profile political figure, who recently vied to represent Batsari Local Government Area in the parliament, as deeply unfortunate and highly disturbing.
The breakthrough follows a coordinated operation by the Katsina State Police Command’s newly established Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), which successfully dismantled the seven-man criminal network.
Operational manifests indicate that the syndicate orchestrated the tactical abduction of the young victim on May 13, 2026, at Sardauna Estate within the Katsina metropolis.
The kidnappers initially slapped the family with a ₦50 million ransom demand, which was later negotiated down to ₦17 million before the traumatized child was finally allowed to regain his freedom.
Following intelligence-led raids executed on May 23, law enforcement operatives arrested six key members of the gang at their suburban hideout.
Alongside the primary mastermind, Nura Aliyu Garwa, the police identified the other apprehended co-conspirators as Abubakar Aminu (37), Ibrahim Muhammad (51), Iliyasu Sani (51), Abubakar Muhammad (27), and Abdullahi Isma’il (30).
During the tactical raid, detectives recovered a Peugeot 307 getaway vehicle, a Boxer operational motorcycle, and ₦7.5 million in cash, which has been verified as part of the ransom proceeds collected from the victim’s relatives.
The suspects have all recorded confessional statements admitting to their respective roles in the abduction plot, while pointing to an elusive accomplice identified simply as Abdul, who is currently the subject of an intense police manhunt.
While commending the security agencies for their swift response, Governor Radda urged the public to actively support the state’s counter-banditry campaign by providing timely information on suspicious movements within their residential areas.
The command confirmed that all six suspects will be arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction immediately after preliminary judicial filings are completed by the state prosecution team.
