Popular businessman abducted outside Abuja Mosque after attending prayers

Thursday, August 27, 2026 - Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a businessman, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed Keche, after he observed Isha'i prayers at a mosque in Dabi Bako, Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

A resident of the community, Ibrahim Suleiman, told Daily Trust on Thursday, August 27, 2026 that the incident occurred on Monday, shortly after the victim had finished observing Isha’i prayers at a mosque close to his residence.

He said the victim was on his way home when some suspected kidnappers, wielding AK-47 rifles, alighted from a tinted, unmarked vehicle, forced him inside and whisked him away amid sporadic gunshots.

According to him, two of the suspected kidnappers had earlier positioned themselves around the mosque before the remaining members of the gang emerged from the vehicle and forced the victim into the waiting car.

“The way the operation was carried out clearly shows that the gunmen had been monitoring the man’s movement because the operation was like a movie,” he said.

Suleiman, whose house is close to the mosque, said he initially thought the strange sound he heard was an electrical spark until he realised that it was gunfire.

Another resident, who sells provisions close to the mosque but preferred anonymity, said he immediately locked himself inside his shop after hearing the sporadic gunshots.

He said he only came out after the kidnappers had left, locked up his shop and returned home. He added that he had earlier noticed a cyclist moving suspiciously around the area before the incident.

“Even before the incident happened, I saw an okada man moving around the place. He was going slowly and coming back, which made me suspicious because people were still praying inside the mosque at the time. It was after the prayers that I started hearing gunshots,” he said.

The source said he suspected that the cyclist could have been an informant for the kidnappers.

The victim, who is married to two wives, is also involved in land business and politics.

The spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, said she was not aware of the latest abduction but promised to make inquiries from the Kwali Police Division and revert.