Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have nabbed a suspected kidnapper, thought to be implicated in the abduction and subsequent murder of Nabeeha, the daughter of a Bwari lawyer.
It is worth recalling that approximately 19 individuals were abducted by bandits from the Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area of the Bwari Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory.
The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N700 million for nine of their victims. Tragically, four hostages were killed, including Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Science at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and 13-year-old Folashade Ariyo. Nabeeha was taken alongside six other siblings.
The siblings, along with their father, Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, were abducted from their residence in Zuma 1, on the outskirts of Bwari town in Abuja on January 2.
However, in an announcement on Sunday, the police revealed that Bello Mohammed, aged 28, was apprehended during a raid on a Kaduna hotel on January 20th, with N2.25 million in suspected ransom money. During interrogation, Mohammed admitted to being a part of the gang responsible for the kidnapping of 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 #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 statement noted.
He additionally confessed that the gang was responsible for the deaths of several of their abducted victims, including Nabeeha, at a camp in Kaduna State on January 13th.
According to the statement, Mohammed attempted to bribe the DPO leading the operation, SP Idris Ibrahim, with a sum of N1 million. However, Ibrahim declined the inducement and proceeded to apprehend 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 acknowledged the participation of five bandits who had already been dealt with by the police in Kaduna, and their dangerous camp was dismantled.
The suspect is now being relocated to the IRT in Abuja for additional investigations and to apprehend any other accomplices. Mohammed is actively cooperating with the police in their ongoing 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.”