The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested three additional suspects allegedly linked to the kidnapping of Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor, Dean of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University.
The latest arrests were made on Friday night at a local brothel in Mararraban Akunza, along the Lafia–Makurdi highway, according to a security source.
Okunsebor was abducted by gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at Mile Uku, a border community between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas.
DSS operatives rescued the university don two days after the abduction and arrested two suspects, including a woman, in connection with the incident.
The latest arrests bring the number of suspects apprehended over the professor’s abduction to five.
The newly arrested suspects were identified as 25-year-old Yakubu Abubakar, also known as Black/Starboy; 37-year-old Usman Abubakar Mairiga; and 27-year-old Sale Babauro Abubakar.
Abubakar who is from the Doemak tribe in Plateau State, while Mairiga and Sale are Hausa and Fulani respectively.
The three suspects have been taken into DSS custody for further investigation.
Their detention was backed by a valid warrant issued by a magistrate’s court.
Security operatives are expected to interrogate the suspects as investigations continue into the kidnapping and efforts to identify and apprehend other alleged members of the gang.
(The Whistler)