Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested three more suspects allegedly linked to the kidnapping of Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor, Dean of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University.
The suspects were arrested on Friday night at a local brothel along the Mararaban Akunza axis of the Lafia-Makurdi highway, according to a security source.
Professor 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.
He was rescued by DSS operatives two days later. Two suspects, including a woman, were also arrested during the operation.
The latest arrests bring the number of suspects apprehended in connection with the abduction to five.
The security source identified the three newly arrested suspects as 25-year-old Yakubu Abubakar, also known as Black or Starboy, from the Doemak tribe in Plateau State; 37-year-old Usman Abubakar Mairiga; and 27-year-old Sale Babauro Abubakar.
According to the source, Mairiga is Hausa, while Sale Babauro Abubakar is Fulani.
The three suspects are currently in the custody of the DSS State Command for further investigation.
The source said their detention followed a valid warrant issued by a magistrate’s court.
The DSS has not yet publicly disclosed further details about the investigation or the alleged roles of the suspects in the kidnapping.
