Police Arrest Killers of Dariye’s Father

Kingsley Nwezeh

Operatives of the Intelligence Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force yesterday arrested eight kidnap suspects indicted in police investigations for the abduction and eventual murder of Pa Dariye Dafwan, the late father of former Governor of Plateau State, Chief Joshua Dariye, in Horop community, Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. Pa Dariye was abducted on June 17, 2020 and shot dead eight days after the criminals collected a ransom of N10 million from the family of the deceased.

The arrest of the suspects followed efforts by the police to ensure perpetrators of the dastardly act were arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.

Parading the suspects in Abuja, Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police, said the breakthrough that led to the arrest of the suspects began with the arrest of one Abubakar Mohammed a.k.a Buba, 23, a native of Gada Biyu in Daffo District, Bokkos LGA, Plateau State. He said “Buba is one of the principal suspects in the kidnap operation. The confession of the suspect which revealed how they abducted and murdered the nonagenarian, assisted the police team in apprehending seven other members of the gang including Ya’u Saidu aka Ya’u Kaban, 40, from Kaban Village, Bokkos LGA, Plateau State, Titus Ezekiel, 34 from from Horop, Bokkos LGA, Dauda Isah, 30, from Horop, Sunday Ibrahim, 35, from Mushere tribe from Horop, Mangut Shumwar, 30, from Horop, Henry Amos, 35, native of Horop, and Jethro Ngusen 57, native of Horop”, he said.

Investigations further revealed that it was Jethro Ngusen, the mastermind of the gang that instructed one of the gang members, Mangut Shumwar to kill Pa Dariye, because he feared that Pa Dariye might recognise the suspects since majority of them were from the same village with the deceased.

Jethro was also identified as the one who took custody of the ransom and later shared the proceeds of the crime amongst the gang members.

Similarly, the police team arrested one Sadiq Abubakar, 31, from Kogi State and one Peter Moses ‘m’ 25yrs old from Kaduna State who abducted a 22year-old lady to a location in Suleja.

“The suspects held the young lady hostage, had repeated canal knowledge of the victim and extorted money from her parents as ransom before her release. “Investigations by the police team showed that the suspects, who are serial virtual kidnappers, usually meet their victims on social media platforms particularly, Facebook, and thereafter lure them to their criminal hideout before subjecting them to sexual molestation and further obtaining ransom from their families”, he said.

The police operatives also intercepted three suspects, Emmanuel Joel, 42, Ayuba Joel, 30 and Hassan Umar, 30, on August 28,2021 in possession of one AK49 rifle loaded with fourteen live ammunition and 26 AK47 magazines at a border town between Nasarawa and Taraba States.

Mba said investigations by the police team revealed that the suspects were arms dealers, who supply weapons to criminal elements in Nasarawa and Taraba States. Efforts are being intensified to arrest members of the gang currently at large.

He said the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, assured that the force was committed to working with law abiding citizens to secure the nation and reduce crimes to the barest minimum in the country.

He advised users of the social media to remain circumspect and protect themselves from cyber crooks masquerading as online friends.

All the suspects will be charged to court on completion of investigations.