FBI Charges Nigerian Damilola Bamigboye for Resisting Arrest, Abducting Federal Agent in Minnesota
The FBI has charged 24-year-old Nigerian Damilola Bamigboye with resisting arrest and abducting a federal agent, following a December 10 incident in Plymouth, Minnesota, according to court documents reviewed by Peoples Gazette.
Bamigboye was under surveillance by Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents for overstaying his student visa when the routine operation escalated into a hostage situation. He was charged alongside Rekeya Frazier, who allegedly assisted in the incident.
According to the FBI, agents in an unmarked vehicle equipped with sirens and lights were monitoring Bamigboye’s Kia Optima outside his apartment when a Jeep parked beside it. Bamigboye, seated in the front passenger seat, masked his face and began moving items from the front to the back seat, while Frazier remained at the wheel.
When the agents approached and identified themselves, Bamigboye allegedly grabbed the driver’s headrest and instructed Frazier to drive. FBI Special Agent Terry Getsch reported: “He yelled at Frazier, ‘Drive! Drive! Drive! Get in the car and drive now,’ or words to that effect.”
During the struggle, one agent tried to prevent Frazier from starting the Jeep, while another attempted to remove Bamigboye from the back seat. Despite the efforts, Frazier started the vehicle, forcing an agent to jump out to avoid being hit, while another was involuntarily carried inside the moving Jeep.
The agent repeatedly identified himself as a federal officer and urged Frazier to stop, but she threatened to crash the car and insisted on dropping him at a police station. The original HSI team pursued the Jeep with sirens and lights.
The Jeep eventually stopped in front of the New Hope Police Department, approximately two miles from Bamigboye’s residence. Bamigboye fled into a nearby grocery store and was arrested there, while Frazier was taken into custody by uniformed police after initially resisting.
Bamigboye later admitted to struggling with a federal agent and instructing Frazier to flee, attributing his actions to post-traumatic stress disorder caused by a previous kidnapping in Nigeria.
The FBI said there is probable cause to believe Bamigboye and Frazier intended to abduct a federal officer, violating Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Section 111, which covers assaulting or resisting federal officers.
Bamigboye has been formally charged following his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
