Former special adviser to Katsina governor arrested for masterminding the kidnapping of an eight year old child

• Former Katsina governor’s aide Nura Aliyu was arrested over a schoolboy kidnapping.

• Police said the abducted child was kidnapped while returning from Islamic school.

• Governor Dikko Radda recently complained about “moles” leaking security information to bandits.

• The arrest has renewed concerns over insecurity and insider collaboration in Nigeria.

A former Special Adviser to the Katsina State Governor, Nura Aliyu, has been arrested by the Katsina State Police Command for masterminding the abduction of an eight-year-old schoolboy in the state, further deepening concerns over insecurity and insider involvement in criminal activities across northern Nigeria.

According to police authorities, the child was kidnapped on May 13, 2026, while returning from an Islamic school in Katsina metropolis. The kidnappers later contacted the family and demanded a ransom of N50 million before negotiations reportedly reduced the payment to N17 million. 

Police said operatives of the newly established Violent Crime Response Unit tracked and arrested six suspects linked to the kidnapping syndicate, including Aliyu, who was identified as the mastermind of the operation. 

The command also confirmed that part of the ransom money, including N7.5 million, was recovered during the operation alongside a Peugeot 307 vehicle and a Boxer motorcycle believed to have been used by the syndicate. 

The arrest has sparked fresh concerns about infiltration of public institutions by criminal networks, especially in northern states battling banditry and mass abductions.

The development comes weeks after Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda, publicly complained that bandits appear to have access to confidential government security discussions.

Speaking during a television interview earlier this month, the governor revealed that information discussed during high-level security meetings often gets leaked almost immediately.

“The day I called for a high-level security meeting here at the state government on how to operate and deal with the situation, five minutes after the meeting, he already knew what we had discussed,” Radda said. 

The governor added, “There are moles among us, moles among the security agencies, and moles among the communities.” 

Nigeria has witnessed repeated school kidnappings and bandit attacks over the past decade, particularly across Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger and Sokoto states.

One of the most prominent incidents was the 2020 Kankara school abduction in Katsina State where more than 300 students were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School by armed gunmen. 

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Since the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls abduction by Boko Haram insurgents, attacks on schools have continued to spread across several northern communities, forcing temporary school closures and increasing fears among parents and residents.

Many communities across the North-West still face attacks by armed gangs involved in kidnapping for ransom, village raids and cattle rustling despite repeated security operations by authorities.