Operatives of the Intelligence Response Team IRT of the Force Intelligence Bureau FIB-IRT of the Nigeria Police has arrested four kidnap for ransom syndicates including a taxi driver in Port Harcourt Rivers State over the kidnapping of one Hussena Adamu wife to Alhaji Musa Ahmad a northern businessman based in the oil rich city.
The victim whose husband is a native of Maiduguri in Borno State hails from Adamawa before her marriage was kidnapped near Casablanca Club GRA Port Harcourt on March 31, 2022 at gun point.
Acting on credible information, operatives of the Intelligence Response Team FIB-IRT led by DCP Tunji Disu led Police team arrested four out of the six man gang who kidnapped the woman and kept her in their den at Bori Khana LGA for seven days (7) days before the husband paid twenty million (N20M) to secure her freedom from the dare devil gang.
The suspects include Isiaka Hamidu m 30 who hails from Adamawa State, Nwasaneo Goodluck m 34 from Khana LGA, Victor Nwidee m 29 from Khana LGA and and ThankGod Bariledun m 36 from Khana LGA who is the taxi driver.
Narrating his involvement in kidnapping after his arrest by the Police team, Isiaka Hamidu who said he used to be a parrot and peacock dealer based in PHC before the incident, had told the Police that he contacted the other members of the criminal gang after he traced and got all the information on the victim.
He told the IRT team that one of his brothers served the husband of the victim Alhaji Musa Ahmad for eleven (11) years and the man only settled him with two hundred and fifty thousand naira (N250,000) after he decided to get married this year
The key suspect further stated that after the money was paid to his brother, he was not happy with the northern businessman and so he decided that kidnaping him of any of his family member is a good way to do revenge on maltreatment he meted to his sibling.
He also hinted that he alone privately contacted Goodluck a long time friend and narrated the matter to him and they agreed to, planned and carried out the kidnapping of the victim with others
The middle aged suspect also alleged that it was this second suspect that called the gang leader Ojukwu that eventually mobilized and cordinated the kidnapping operation on the woman.
He also said that he collected one million, three hundred thousand naira (N1.3 million) from the suspect after they successful took the woman into captivity and collected ransom money. Salisu confirmed to the IRT team that the ransome he collected was spent on the GRA guest he was keeping every night .
In his own account, Goodluck who said he is a Higher National Diploma Holder from Abia State Polytechnic Aba admitted that the key suspect Isiaka contacted him about the kidnapping and they called the gang leader who later invited other of his gang members.
He further said that the gang leader after the successful abduction of the victim and payment of ransom of twenty million naira (N20 million) gave him a total of five million and five hundred thousand naira (N5.5 million) to share with three other gang members
He also admitted to that he shared and took two million naira (N2 million) and gave Thank God same amount of money, while Isiaka got N1.3 million and Victor N500,000.00.
In his testimony, Thank God who said he never knew it was kidnapping the gang engaged the services of his vehicle until after the following abduction of the woman however said that he used the vehicle to take the victim to the gang’s den in Bori Khana LGA after the incident
He also admitted that the gang leader used his taxi cab a Toyota Avensis to stop the victim of the kidnapping case on her way to the school to drop her children before the took her into the commercial vehicle and he drove off with the criminals.
He also said that the gang leader brought in three other men on their way to the house of the victim who helped to stop and surrender the victim in her car on her way before the kidnapping incident.
The fourth suspect Victor said that he only kept watch on the movement of the victim to give the group while the gang leader an other kingpins abuductes and took the woman into captivity in his own village.
He also admitted that he collected five hundred thousand naira (N500,000) from Goodluck after the crime but denied that he knew other members of the syndicate before the incident.
He also told the Police team that he used the proceeds of the crime to buy bug a Toyota Corolla car which had been tracked and taken into custody by the Force.
Thus far, Police report has it that one mini bus, one Toyota Avensis tinted glass car and one Toyota Corolla car had been recovered as exhibits from all the arrested suspects.
It also revealed that the gang leader is also a leader of a cult group Dem-Bam in Khana LGA of Rivers State that kill and main people in the area and is on the wanted list of the security agents.
The Inspector-General of Police IGP Usman Alkali Baba had earlier directed the flushing out of all kidnappers terrorising all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.
He also charged the Police team to always ensure diligent prosecution of all criminals arrested in connection with such violent crimes in the interest of justice and assured citizens of security
