Police arrest fourth suspect in kidnap case after six weeks
The Northern Regional Police Intelligence Directorate has arrested the fourth and final suspect linked to a kidnapping syndicate that abducted and mutilated a 42-year-old man at Wapuli in the Northern Region last December.
The suspect, Hoyeefe Amadu, was arrested at about 1.30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, in a village about 10 kilometres from Watugu, a suburb of Gushegu, after weeks of sustained surveillance.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, [January 21, 2026] and signed by the Northern Regional Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Alhassan Luckman Niendow, police said the arrest came six weeks after three other members of the syndicate were picked up.
The kidnapping was reported to the Tamale Regional Police Intelligence Directorate on December 2, 2025, at about 9.30 a.m.
The Northern Regional Commander, DCOP Wisdom Lavoe, subsequently deployed a five-member intelligence team to carry out surveillance operations in the Wapuli area of the Yendi District.
Investigations showed that the kidnappers inflicted severe cutlass wounds on the victim and demanded a ransom of GH¢100,000 for his release.
The victim’s family managed to raise GH¢90,000, leaving a shortfall of GH¢10,000, before police rescued the victim on December 5, 2025.
In the early hours of December 6, 2025, police engaged the suspects in a gun battle at the location where the kidnapping took place.
Four suspects escaped, but officers retrieved a motorbike with registration number M-25-NR and a Samsung mobile phone from the scene.
Later that morning, at about 8.00 a.m., police arrested three suspects at Bokpaba village along the stretch linking Bimbilla and Yendi.
The suspects were identified as Haruna Seidu, aged 31, Amidu Bandi, aged 30, and Osman Bandi, aged 40, according to media reports published on December 8, 2025.
Police also retrieved GH¢70,000 believed to be part of the ransom, along with two additional motorbikes, one bearing registration number M-25-GB 1026 and another without registration.
The three suspects were transferred to the Regional Police Headquarters in Tamale on December 7 and were later arraigned before the Tamale Circuit Court on December 17, where they were remanded into prison custody on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy.
