…suspect arrested, charged as vehicles stolen at gunpoint in Abuja return to Nigeria
Matilda Omonaiye/
The Nigeria Police Force has recovered and repatriated two vehicles stolen at gunpoint in Abuja and trafficked across international borders to Burkina Faso, in a major breakthrough against a suspected transnational vehicle trafficking syndicate operating between Nigeria and the Sahel.
The vehicles, a 2018 Lexus SUV and a 2025 Toyota Hilux, were traced to Ouagadougou and returned to Nigeria following an operation coordinated by the Force INTERPOL National Central Bureau, NCB, Abuja, in collaboration with its counterpart in Burkina Faso.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, disclosed the development in a statement on Monday, July 27, 2026.
According to the police, the Lexus SUV was snatched from its driver on August 3, 2025, while the Toyota Hilux was taken under similar circumstances on February 20, 2026.
The vehicles were allegedly moved out of Nigeria by a syndicate specialising in cross-border vehicle trafficking within Nigeria and the wider Sahel region.
The recovery operation began after INTERPOL NCB Abuja received separate requests for assistance from the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the Office of the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board.
The bureau subsequently activated INTERPOL cooperation channels with NCB Ouagadougou to locate the stolen vehicles and facilitate their recovery.
Police said the operation involved coordination with the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Nigerian Ambassador to Burkina Faso and intelligence counterparts in Ouagadougou.
Those efforts eventually led to the tracing, recovery and repatriation of both vehicles to Nigeria.
The recovered Lexus and Toyota Hilux have since been formally handed over to representatives of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the FCT Primary Health Care Board respectively.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of a suspect identified as Issoufou Nagimou, who has been charged before the High Court of Burkina Faso in connection with the case.
The recovery underscores the international dimension of organised vehicle theft, in which stolen vehicles can be moved rapidly across national borders and integrated into trafficking networks stretching through West Africa and the Sahel.
The police said the operation was carried out under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, as part of efforts to strengthen international cooperation against transnational organised crime.
The Force reaffirmed its determination to leverage the INTERPOL platform to track criminal networks beyond Nigeria’s borders and dismantle syndicates involved in cross-border vehicle trafficking.
It also pledged to sustain collaboration with international law enforcement partners in protecting lives and property and bringing suspects involved in transnational crimes to justice.
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