The Nigeria Police Force has recovered and repatriated a 2018 Lexus SUV and a 2025 Toyota Hilux that were stolen at gunpoint in Abuja and trafficked to Burkina Faso by a cross-border vehicle theft syndicate operating across Nigeria and the Sahel region.
The Force said the operation was carried out by the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), Abuja, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, through sustained international collaboration with INTERPOL and relevant authorities in Burkina Faso.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the Lexus SUV was stolen on August 3, 2025, while the Toyota Hilux was snatched from its driver on February 20, 2026 in separate armed robbery incidents in Abuja.
The police said the recovery followed separate requests for assistance from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, prompting INTERPOL NCB Abuja to activate its cooperation channels with INTERPOL NCB Ouagadougou to trace the stolen vehicles.
The statement said the operation received support from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Nigerian Embassy in Burkina Faso, and security authorities in Ouagadougou, leading to the successful tracing, recovery and repatriation of both vehicles to Nigeria.
The recovered vehicles have since been formally handed over to representatives of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and the FCT Primary Health Care Board.
The police also disclosed that one suspect, Issoufou Nagimou, was arrested in connection with the cross-border vehicle trafficking syndicate and has been charged before the High Court of Burkina Faso.
Reaffirming its commitment to tackling transnational crime, the Force said it would continue to strengthen international police cooperation through the INTERPOL platform to dismantle criminal networks involved in cross-border vehicle trafficking.
“The Nigeria Police Force reaffirms its commitment to deepening international police cooperation through the INTERPOL platform and to relentlessly pursuing criminal syndicates involved in cross-border vehicle trafficking, in furtherance of its mandate to protect lives and property,” the statement added.
