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The Taraba State Police Command has paraded 20 suspected kidnappers allegedly terrorising the state.
According to the command, the suspects were arrested in various spots across the state, following credible intelligence.
Parading the suspects before newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Jalingo, the state capital, on Friday, September 22, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Usman, disclosed that the suspects had all confessed to committing the crime.
He said operatives recovered three AK-47 rifles and a fabricated pump action gun from them.
The suspects include Buhari Ishaku, Sule Mohammed, Tsino Buns Majidadi, Emmanuel Danlami, Hassan Dan’asabe, Hussein Kasimu, Husseini Mohammed, and Usman Hassan.
Others are Haro Ibrahim, Abubakar Mohammed, Lawali Dogo, Gidai Ibrahim, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Okundu Godwin, Ikechukwu Emmanuel, and Ibrahim Babangida.
The Police PRO also stated that the suspects had collected over 30 million naira as ransom from their victims’ families.
”The command has launched a serious manhunt on the criminals hibernating in some identified hot spots within the state following public outcry on the nefarious activities of these criminal elements operating within the state, particularly the Jalingo metropolis.
“The Special Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Special Striking Force attached to the Government House have organized constant raids on the hideouts of these hoodlums to have a crime-free society where law-abiding citizens would be allowed to go about their lawful business without fear of being molested or intimidated by any quarter,” Usman said.
Giving the breakdown of the arrests, Usman highlighted that the command arrested suspected kidnappers, including Sanusi Ibrahim, John Baba, and Hassan Yusuf, in Sabon-Gida Akwe village of Kurmi local council based on credible intelligence.
He explained that the suspects were part of a kidnapping gang terrorizing the area, adding that they invaded the house of one Mafure Hassan in Sabon-Gida village and kidnapped two of his relatives, Usman Hassan and Habiba Mafure.
The Special Anti-kidnapping Unit similarly apprehended two suspected kidnappers in Donga Local Government Area, seizing an AK-47 rifle and two live ammunition.
The Command spokesperson said the suspects confessed to being part of a gang involved in armed robbery and kidnapping across the state’s Donga, Bali, and Takum Local Government Areas.
- ICIR