The FBI has charged Damilola Bamigboye, a 24-year-old Nigerian national, with resisting arrest and abducting a federal agent in Minnesota.
Court documents reviewed by Peoples Gazette state that Mr Bamigboye overstayed his student visa. He was charged alongside Rekeya Frazier, who authorities allege assisted in the incident.
What began as a surveillance operation on December 10 escalated into what investigators described as a hostage situation involving a Homeland Security Investigations agent.
Agents were conducting surveillance from a parked, unmarked vehicle outside Mr Bamigboye’s apartment in Plymouth, Minnesota.
The vehicle had sirens and lights despite lacking police markings. They were monitoring a Kia Optima linked to Mr Bamigboye when a Jeep SUV arrived and parked beside it.
Agents identified Mr Bamigboye as the front-seat passenger and believed the driver to be his girlfriend.
According to the FBI, Mr Bamigboye appeared to notice the Ford Xplora used by law enforcement and then put on a mask. He began moving items from the front seat to the back while Ms Frazier exited briefly and stood near the driver’s seat.
Agents exited their vehicle, displayed badges, and identified themselves as law enforcement. Mr Bamigboye moved to the back seat and appeared uncooperative when told they wished to discuss his immigration status.
The FBI said he grabbed the driver’s headrest and instructed Ms Frazier to drive.
“He yelled at Frazier, ‘Drive! Drive! Drive! Get in the car and drive now’, or words to that effect,” FBI Special Agent Terry Getsch wrote in a report to U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz.
Federal Agent Carried Away During Confrontation
Ms Frazier started the vehicle as one agent entered the front seat and attempted to stop her. A second agent struggled with Mr Bamigboye in the back seat. As the Jeep moved forward, the second agent jumped clear to avoid being struck, while the first agent remained inside.
“Agent 1 was now being involuntarily carried in the Jeep as it drove,” the FBI wrote.
The agent ordered Ms Frazier to stop and warned that continuing would worsen the situation. She pushed his hand away when he tried to park and threatened to crash the vehicle. She also said she would drop him at a police station.
The FBI stated that the agent feared he was being abducted. “Agent 1 is assigned to another HSI office and is not familiar with Minnesota (he is on temporary detail for an operation).
He is not familiar with that area and had no idea where they were going. He was in fear that he was being abducted,” the report said.
Arrest And Charges Filed
The Ford Xplora followed the Jeep with lights and sirens activated. Mr Bamigboye called 911 as the agent identified himself and contacted HSI operations. The agent later drew his firearm and ordered Ms Frazier to stop, but she continued driving.
Ms Frazier eventually parked outside the New Hope Police Department, roughly two miles from the apartment. As the vehicle slowed, Mr Bamigboye exited and ran into a nearby Hy-Vee grocery store.
He was arrested at the back of the store after a brief pursuit.
Ms Frazier initially refused to exit the Jeep until uniformed officers arrived and took her into custody.
Mr Bamigboye first declined to speak with investigators but later waived his rights. He denied that officers had identified themselves and admitted wrestling with an agent and instructing Ms Frazier to drive away. He said he acted due to post-traumatic stress disorder from a prior kidnapping in Nigeria.
“The 24-year-old claimed he acted the way he had because he had PTSD from having been previously kidnapped while living in his active country of Nigeria,” Agent Getsch wrote.
The FBI said it had probable cause to believe Mr Bamigboye and Ms Frazier violated Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 111. The agency alleged the conduct involved contact with the victim and intent to commit another felony.
Mr Bamigboye appeared before Magistrate Judge David Schultz in Hennepin County following his arraignment.
