Suspects admit collecting N1.5m ransom
Dele Ogbodo in Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Tuesday paraded 11 suspected kidnappers of the Sierra Leonean, Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Major Gen. Alfred Claude-Nelson, who was abducted along the Kaduna-Abuja highway on June 30.
Briefing the journalists on how the suspects were arrested in Kaduna, the Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Donald Awunah, said the memebers were apprehended through coordinated operation by the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
Meanwhile, the leader of the gang, Alhaji Rabiu Yusuf, has admitted that the gang collected N1.5 million as ransom before he was released.
Speaking further, Awunah, said: “Arrangement will soon be concluded to charge them to court. We want to let you know that the Nigeria Police has smashed this eleven man kidnap gang that had for some time now terrorized Kaduna State, the FCT and other North-central states.
“This dare devil criminal gang was responsible for the abduction of the Sierra-Leonean Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Maj. Gen. Alfred Claude-Nelson on June 30, 2016, the Executive Director of Dangote Group and many other high profile kidnap for ransom in recent times.”
According to him, the modus operandi of the criminal elements includes mounting road blocks on highways in military uniforms, surprise attack on unsuspecting motorists and relocating from one point to other in the forest with their victims to avoid detection and arrest.
He said: “To this end, the IRT of the IG Monitoring Unit, the Nigeria Police on July 2, 2016 carried out tactical surveillance of the Abuja-Kaduna axis and all the adjoining states.
“This coordinated operation led to the arrest of eleven members of the notorious gang that has been terrorizing the North-central States of the country with arms and ammunition recovered from them.”
The paraded suspects, according to the Force spokesman are: “Alhaji Garba Abubakar, aka Habu 27, Yusuf Adamu, 20, Hussaini Musa, 25, Shuaibu Idris, 35, Usman Bello, 20, Musa Ali, 45, Muhammadu Abubakar, 30, Suleiman Abubakar, 25, Gambo Ibrahim, 25, and Balarabe Mohammadu, 32 ”
