KEY POINTS

• DSS arrests three more suspects linked to the kidnapping of Nasarawa varsity professor Samuel Okunsebor.
• The suspects were arrested at a local brothel along the Lafia–Makurdi highway.
• They are being held for further investigation under a valid court detention warrant.

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 carried out on Friday night as part of ongoing investigations into the abduction of the university don, who was kidnapped by gunmen in July and later rescued by DSS operatives.

The development brings the number of suspects arrested in connection with the incident to five, following the arrest of two persons, including a woman, shortly after the professor was abducted.

A security source disclosed that the three latest suspects were arrested at a local brothel along the Mararraban Akunza area of the Lafia–Makurdi highway.

The suspects were identified as 25-year-old Yakubu Abubakar, also known as Black or Starboy; 37-year-old Usman Abubakar Mairiga; and 27-year-old Sale Babauro Abubakar.

According to the source, the suspects are believed to be members of the kidnapping gang responsible for the abduction of Professor Okunsebor.

The security source said the suspects were taken into custody by DSS operatives and are currently being held at the State Command for further investigation.

Their detention, the source added, was carried out pursuant to a valid detention warrant issued by a magistrate’s court.

Professor Okunsebor was abducted in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at Mile Uku, a border community between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State.

The abduction raised fresh concerns over the security situation around communities bordering the two local government areas, particularly amid growing attacks by criminal groups operating across parts of the state.

DSS operatives subsequently launched an operation that led to the professor’s rescue two days after his abduction.

Two suspects were also arrested during the initial operation, including a woman believed to have links to the kidnapping network.

The latest arrests suggest that security agencies are continuing to trace other individuals allegedly involved in the operation, with investigators expected to establish the roles played by each suspect.

Investigation continues

The three suspects remain in DSS custody as investigations continue into the kidnapping incident and the wider activities of the alleged criminal network.

Security authorities are expected to interrogate the suspects and investigate their possible connections with other members of the gang, as well as establish whether they were involved in the planning, execution or logistics of the professor’s abduction.

The arrests also underscore the continued efforts by security agencies to dismantle kidnapping networks operating around Nasarawa and neighbouring states.

For now, the DSS has not publicly disclosed further details about the investigation or whether additional arrests are expected.