OPERATIVES of the Nigerian Police Force have arrested a suspected kidnapper believed to be involved in the abduction and murder of Nabeeha, daughter of a Bwari lawyer.
Recall that about 19 abductees were taken away by bandits from the Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The kidnappers were demanding N700m ransom for nine of their victims.
The kidnappers had killed four of the hostages, including Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and 13-year-old Folashade Ariyo. Nabeeha was abducted alongside six other siblings.
The siblings were kidnapped with their father, Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, from their home at Zuma 1, on the outskirts of Bwari town in Abuja on January 2.
However, in a statement on Sunday, the police stated that 28-year-old Bello Mohammed was apprehended in a Kaduna hotel raid on January 20th with N2.250m in suspected ransom money. Under questioning, Mohammed confessed to being part of the gang that kidnapped Barrister Ariyo’s family members in Bwari on January 2nd.
“The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on 20th January 2024, have 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 N2.250m (Two Million, two hundred and fifty thousand naira) only, suspected to be proceeds of ransoms collected from kidnapped victims within the area,” the statement noted.
He further admitted that the gang killed some of their kidnapped victims, including Nabeeha, in a camp in Kaduna State on January 13th.
According to the statement, Mohammed offered a N1 million bribe to the DPO leading the operation, SP Idris Ibrahim. But Ibrahim rejected the inducement and arrested the suspect.
“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.”
Mohammed also confessed to the involvement of five bandits already neutralised by police in Kaduna. Their deadly camp was also destroyed.
The suspect is being transferred to the IRT in Abuja for further investigations and to apprehend other accomplices. Mohammed is currently assisting the police in their inquiries.
“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) neutralised 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,” the statement noted.
IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun commended the DPO’s commitment and professionalism. He assured that “the police would leave no stone unturned in decimating criminally minded individuals and bequeathing to Nigerians a more secure society.”