Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested two high-profile kidnap suspects as they attempted to travel to Saudi Arabia for the holy pilgrimage.
According to reports, one of the suspects, Yahaya Yakubu, a resident of Paikon-Kore village in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, was apprehended at the Abuja Hajj camp during the routine screening process.
Yakubu had presented his passport alongside other intending pilgrims when DSS operatives moved in and arrested him.
In a related operation, Zamfara-born Sani Aliyu Galadi, also known as “Mai Boxer,” was arrested at the Sokoto Hajj camp, located nearly 750 kilometres from the capital.
Security sources revealed that both men had been on the DSS radar for over a year, and the Hajj screening procedures provided an opportune moment for their capture.
Aliyu is suspected to be a key figure behind several bandit attacks in the Sokoto-Zamfara axis.
Following his arrest, Aliyu was flown from Sokoto to the DSS headquarters in Abuja for further investigation.
