VIDEO: Police arrest Abuja ‘one chance’ gang, recover ₦8.8m ransom

• FCT Police arrested a suspected "one chance" kidnapping syndicate operating in Abuja.

• The gang allegedly collected ₦8.8 million ransom from a female victim's family before releasing her.

• Police recovered the full ₦8.8 million, two vehicles, mobile phones and other suspected stolen items.

• One suspect admitted the gang targeted women, saying: "Because they are not struggling."

For many Abuja residents, entering the wrong commercial vehicle has become one of their biggest fears. Now, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command says it has arrested a suspected "one chance" kidnapping syndicate that allegedly abducted a woman, collected ₦8.8 million ransom from her family and still got caught.

The police also recovered the entire ₦8.8 million ransom, two vehicles allegedly used for the operation, mobile phones and other items believed to have been stolen from victims.

Speaking during a briefing on Wednesday, the FCT Police Command said its tracking team kept monitoring the gang even after they released the victim, eventually leading officers to the suspects and the recovered cash.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, the command has stepped up efforts to tackle the growing menace of "one chance" crimes across Abuja following directives from the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi.

"Like you all know, FCT residents have been battling with issues of one-chance activities within the FCT and the Commissioner of Police has charged all the additional police officers to ensure that they bring an end to one-chance activities," she said.

Adeh explained that the case started after the police received a distress call that a young woman had been kidnapped after boarding a vehicle operated by the syndicate.

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The kidnappers reportedly demanded an even higher amount at first before eventually collecting N8.8 million from the victim's family and releasing her.

But instead of ending the investigation there, police officers continued tracking the phone that had been used to negotiate the ransom.

"So on Saturday… We received a distress call that a certain young lady was being abducted by this particular gang. Our CP tracking unit started tracking the phone of the victim that was being used to contact the family," she said.

She added: "They collected the sum of ₦8.8m and released the victim. But we still continued tracking this syndicate and… arrested the whole syndicate, recovering the N8.8m that was taken from this victim."

During the parade of the suspects, one of the alleged gang members admitted that they deliberately targeted women.

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When asked why, the suspect replied: "Because they are not struggling."

The suspect also confessed that the gang had collected different amounts from previous victims.

"The first one is ₦500,000… the third one is ₦1.5m… the fourth one is N2m. Then this fifth one is ₦8.8m."

A female suspect also admitted that her boyfriend was the driver of the vehicle used during the operations.

Asked who drove the car, she responded: "He's my man."

She further admitted that one of the two vehicles recovered by the police was specifically used for "one chance" operations.

"I use one for the one chance."

Police said investigations are still ongoing, while all suspects will be charged to court after the investigation is concluded.

"One chance" attacks have remained one of the biggest security concerns in Abuja in recent years. Victims are usually tricked into boarding vehicles that appear to be commercial taxis before they are robbed, assaulted or, in some cases, kidnapped for ransom.