One suspect has been apprehended by the Nigerian Police Force in connection to the abduction of a family of six in an Abuja estate.
The suspect identified as Bello Mohammed was caught according to Police in a hotel in Kaduna during a raid.
The suspect is alleged to be linked to some recent kidnappings in the nation’s capital.
According to the police, Mohammed confessed that he was a member of the gang that killed Nabeeha, one of the girls kidnapped in their estate.
Background to the Story
On January 2, 2024, a legal practitioner identified as Mansur Al-Kadriyar was kidnapped alongside his six daughters in his residence in Zuma 1, Bwari area of Abuja.
Al-Kadriyar was later released by the bandits to go search for the 60 million naira ransom demanded for his daughter’s release.
Following, Al-Kadriyar’s inability to raise the ransom, his eldest daughter identified as Nabeeha was killed two weeks later.
Nabeeha, a 400-level student of the Ahmadu Bello University was murdered, leaving behind her other sisters – Najeebah, a 500-level student of Quantity Surveying, Nadheerah, a 300-level Zoology student and three others.
After killing Nabeeha, the bandits raised the ransom to 100 million naira and threatened to kill more girls if the ransom was not paid.
The abductors reportedly increased the ransom to N100 million and threatened to kill more girls if the money was not paid.
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The kidnap of the girls made headlines and formed social media conversation. A GoFundMe account was set up to raise the ransom for the family.
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Innovation, Isa Pantami through his friend raised the ransom for the family.
On January 21, the girls who were held hostel were released after spending 18 days in the kidnappers’ den.
How one of the Gang members was arrested
A statement by the Police Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi says the suspect, Mohammed was arrested when a team of policemen raided a hotel in Kaduna State.
The Police PRO said the suspect was arrested with 2.25 million naira believed to be proceeds of kidnapping.
Further, he revealed that the suspect when apprehended tried bribing the Tafa Divisional Police Officer with one million naira.
Read the full statement below:
PRESS RELEASE
POLICE DESTROY BANDITS CAMP, ARREST DEADLY KIDNAPPER FOR KIDNAP, GRUESOME MURDER OF BWARI LADY, NABEEHA IN KADUNA
As IGP Commends DPO for Rejecting 1m Naira Inducement
The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on 20th January 2024, arrested one Bello Mohammed, 28, of Zamfara state, in Kaduna.
The Divisional Police Officer, Tafa Division, acting on intelligence, raided one hotel in Tafa Area, Kaduna, where he arrested Bello, with the sum of #2.25m (Two Million, two hundred and fifty million naira) only, suspected to be proceeds of ransoms collected from kidnapped victims within the area.
The suspect, during interrogation, confessed to being part of the gang that kidnapped the family members of one Barrister Ariyo in Bwari, FCT, on 2nd January 2024, and killed some kidnapped victims, including Nabeeha, f, daughter of the legal practitioner, on 13th January 2024, in a kidnappers camp, in Kaduna State.
The suspect, in a dramatic situation, offered #1,000,000 (one million naira only) to induce the DPO, who rejected the offer and carried out his duty diligently.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has ordered that the suspect, who also confessed to the involvement of the already five (5) neutralized bandits in Kaduna by the IRT, headed by one Mai Gemu (aka Godara), whose deadly camp has also been destroyed, be handed over to the DFI-IRT in Abuja for discreet investigations into the matter and arrest of all other culprits responsible for the dastardly act. The suspect is currently helping the police in their investigations.
While commending the DPO Tafa, SP Idris Ibrahim, for the commitment and professionalism displayed in the case, he further assured that the Police would leave no stone unturned in decimating criminally minded individuals and bequeathing to Nigerians a more secure society for all and sundry in our dear country, Nigeria.
ACP OLUMUYIWA ADEJOBI, mnipr, mipra, fCAI,
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA
28th January 2024.
