Hobnob News — In a strategic covert operation, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday apprehended two high-profile kidnapping suspects at Hajj transit camps in Abuja and Sokoto as they prepared to embark on the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The suspects, Yahaya Yakubu and Sani Aliyu Galadi, had reportedly been on the DSS watchlist for over a year, and their attempt to travel provided a rare opportunity for operatives to close in on them undetected.
According to reliable security sources, Yakubu, who hails from Paikon-Kore village in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was arrested at the Abuja Hajj camp during routine screening. Simultaneously, Galadi, popularly known as “Mai Boxer”, was intercepted nearly 750 kilometers away at the Sokoto Hajj camp.
Both suspects were said to have seamlessly blended in with intending pilgrims, but eagle-eyed DSS officers recognized them during biometric and identity verification procedures.
Sources close to the operation revealed that Galadi is a feared bandit leader linked to a wave of violent attacks and kidnappings across the Sokoto-Zamfara axis, while Yakubu is believed to be behind several abductions within and around Nigeria’s capital city.
“Yakubu had submitted his passport like every other pilgrim. He was on the verge of departure when DSS agents swooped in,” a security operative disclosed.
An official of the Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, who declined to be named, confirmed the arrest and stated that the agency is cooperating fully with the investigation.
Galadi has since been transported to the DSS headquarters in Abuja for interrogation and further investigations, marking a significant breakthrough in the fight against organized kidnapping networks operating in northern Nigeria.
