DSS Detains Three More for Nasarawa Professor Samuel Okunsebor's Kidnap

The Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed on Friday night the apprehension of three additional individuals, suspected to be members of the syndicate responsible for the abduction of Professor Samuel Avengbe Okunsebor. Professor Okunsebor, who holds the position of Dean of Agriculture at Nasarawa State University, was successfully rescued by DSS operatives a mere two days after his initial kidnap.

The academic was seized by armed men in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, 2026, from Mile Uku, a community situated on the border between Lafia and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas. At the time of Professor Okunsebor's rescue, the DSS had already taken two suspects into custody, one of whom was a female.

According to a security insider, the three latest members of the kidnapping group were arrested late Friday at a local brothel located along the Mararraban Akunza stretch of the Lafia – Makurdi highway. The suspects have been identified as Yakubu Abubakar, also known as Black or Starboy, a 25-year-old from the Doemak tribe in Plateau State; Usman Abubakar Mairiga, aged 37, who is of Hausa descent; and Sale Babauro Abubakar, a 27-year-old of Fulani origin.

The source further revealed that these suspects are presently held at the State Command. Their detention is in line with a valid warrant obtained from a magistrate's court, facilitating ongoing investigations into the incident.