•How we abducted victim while taking her children to school —Suspect
A taxi driver and three other kidnap suspects have been arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB-IRT) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for kidnapping a woman, Hussena Adamu, the wife of Alhaji Musa Ahmad, a northern businessman based in the oil rich city.
The suspects were identified as Isiaka Hamidu, aged 30, who hails from Adamawa State; Nwasaneo Goodluck, 34; Nwidee Victor, 29; and the taxi driver, Bariledun ThankGod, 36, all from Khana LGA.
The victim, whose husband is from Maiduguri in Borno State, hails from Adamawa State, and was kidnapped near Casablanca Club, GRA, Port Harcourt on March 31, 2022 at gun point.
Acting on credible information, operatives of the FIB-IRT, led by the Commander, DCP Tunji Disu, however succeeded in arresting four of the six-man gang.
They reportedly held the victim hostage in their den at Bori Khana Local Government Area for seven days before setting her free after her husband paid N20 million as ransom.
During interrogation, Hamidu, who said he used to be a parrot and peacock dealer based in Port Harcourt before the incident, confessed his involvement in kidnapping, saying that he contacted other members of the gang after he traced and got all needed information about the victim.
He made it known that one of his brothers served the husband of the victim, Alhaji Ahmad for 11 years and the man only settled him with N250,000 after he decided to get married this year.
The suspect further stated that after the money was paid to his brother, he was not happy with the northern businessman, so he decided to kidnap any of his family member as a revenge of his sibling’s maltreatment.
Hamidu also disclosed that he contacted Goodluck, a long time friend and narrated the matter to him, leading to their agreement and plan to carry out the kidnapping of the victim with others.
The middle aged suspect also said that it was Goodluck who called the gang leader, Ojukwu, who eventually mobilized and cordinated the kidnap operation.
He also said that he got N1.3 million as his share of the ransom.
Hamidu told the IRT operatives that he spent his share of ransom on bills in the guest house he lodged in.
In his own account, Goodluck, who claims to be a Higher National Diploma graduate from Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, admitted that Hamidu contacted him about the kidnapping, and that they called the gang leader, Ojukwu, who later invited other gang members.
Goodluck said he got N5.5 million from the N20 million ransom paid by the victim’s family and shared it with three other gang members.
In his confession, ThankGod said that the gang engaged his services with his car, unknown to him that they were into kidnapping until the abduction took place.
He however said that he used the vehicle to take the victim to the gang’s den in Bori Khana LGA after she was abducted.
He also admitted that the gang leader used his taxi cab, a Toyota Avensis, to block the victim on her way to her children’s school, after which she was put in the commercial vehicle and driven into captivity.
The fourth suspect, Victor, said that his own role was keep a watch on the victim, while he got N500,000 as his share of the ransom.
He further confessed that he used the proceeds of the crime to buy a Toyota Corolla car which had been tracked and taken into custody by the Force.
Police report had it that a mini bus, a Toyota Avensis car with tinted glass and a Toyota Corolla car had been recovered as exhibits from all the arrested suspects.
The report also revealed that the gang leader is also a leader of a cult group Dey-Bam in Khana LGA of Rivers State that kill and main people in the area, and is also on the wanted list of the security agents.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali 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, while he assured citizens of security.
