Callistus Agwaza, Jalingo
The police in Jalingo, Taraba state have arrested a suspected kidnapper with over N8.5m believed to be his share of kidnapping ransom.
Parading the suspect on Wednesday at the state headquarters of the police command in Jalingo, the police commissioner, Joseph Eribo, said the suspect, identified as Aliyu Mohammed, offered the whole money as bribe to the police operatives but the operatives refused.
Eribo said, “On the 29/1/2024 at about 21:45hrs, a team of mobile police attached to 40PMF Jalingo, posted on nipping point duty at Yaggai along Jalingo – Yola bye-pass, arrested one Aliyu Mohammed of Mubi town in Adamawa State, age 35, in a Toyota starlet ash colour with registration YLA 321 ZY.”
The commissioner said, during interrogation, “the suspect could not give satisfactory account of himself, hence a search was conducted on his vehicle and a cash sum of Eight Million Five Hundred and Fifty- Five Thousand Naira (N8,555,000), Seven mobile phones, three thousand naira (N3,000) unused MTN recharge cards and seven amulets were discovered in his car.”
Eribo said, “Immediately police started searching the vehicle, two of the suspects jumped out and ran into the bush.
“The suspect tried to bribe the PMF personnel, requested them to take the whole money and allow him go but the PMF personnel refused and arrested him accordingly.
“During our further investigation, we discovered another N4000,000 in the suspect’s bank account”.
The suspect however, denied being a kidnapper or criminal of any kind.
Speaking in an interview with journalists Mohammed said the criminals requested him to drive them to Ngolore market near Yola, Adamawa state to buy cows since their vehicle was in a bad condition.
According to him, the criminals told him that the money was a stolen money, and they were going to buy cows for their boss.
The police commissioner also paraded a gang of five other suspected kidnappers terrorising Jauro Ganah, New CBN and environs in the state capital.
He said operatives of the anti-kidnapping team, acting on a tip-off, succeeded in arresting a gang members identified as
Habibu Ibrahim (aka Rilwanu,) Abba Mohammed (aka Gandari), Aliyasssa’u Umar, Abdulaziz Adamu (aka Dan-Mallam,) and Danlami Ibrahim (aka Teacher), all of Jauro Ganah New CBN.
He said the suspects confessed to have involved in many kidnapping incidents that took place around Jauro Ganah and New CBN area.
The police commissioner said three AK47 rifles with five rounds of live ammunition each were recovered from the suspects.
He added that the suspect are providing the police with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the fleeing members of the gang.
