DSS Arrests Three More Suspects in Professor's Kidnap Case

Operatives of Nigeria's Department of State Services (DSS) have apprehended three additional individuals suspected of involvement in the abduction of Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor, the Dean of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University.

The university don was successfully rescued by DSS operatives just two days after his capture by unknown gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, 2026. The abduction occurred in Mile Uku, a border community situated between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas. At the time of the professor's rescue, two suspects, including a woman, had already been taken into custody.

According to a security source, the three newly arrested suspects were detained on Friday night at a local brothel located along the Mararaban Akunza-Lafia-Makurdi highway. The source identified the individuals as 25-year-old Yakubu Abubakar, also known as Black/Starboy, from the Doemak community in Plateau State; 37-year-old Usman Abubakar Mairiga; and 27-year-old Sale Babauro Abubakar. Mairiga and Sale Babauro Abubakar are reportedly of Hausa and Fulani backgrounds, respectively.

The suspects are currently being held at the State Command for comprehensive investigation. This action follows the acquisition of a valid detention warrant from a magistrate's court, underscoring the ongoing efforts to dismantle the network responsible for the professor's kidnapping.

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The suspects were being held at the State Command for further investigation, following a valid detention warrant obtained from a magistrate’s court.