How notorious kidnapper was kidnapped, forced to pay N1.5m ransom

In a strange story, Mohammed Ahmadu, a notorious kidnapper was kidnapped by another gang of kidnappers he had gone to do business with.

Mohammed Ahmadu, otherwise known as ‘Confirm,’ is a notorious kidnapper who had been terrorising travellers on the Abuja-Kaduna and Abuja-Lokoja highways.

He has been abducting people for ransom until he recently got a taste of his own medicine when he was kidnapped and forced to pay N1.5 million in ransom by one Umar, leader of another kidnap gang, to regain his freedom.

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This became known when the kidnapped kidnapper and his abductors were both arrested by the Special Tactical Squad (STS) of the Inspector-General of Police.

Following his arrest, Ahmadu, told journalists when he was paraded alongside other suspects by the Force Public Relations Officer, CP Frank Mba, in Abuja, that he was kidnapped when he visited another kidnap gang to sell ammunition to them.

“I had been involved in more kidnap operations than I can remember,” Ahmadu said.

One time he said his gang kidnapped 20 victims at a time.

“But I can only remember I was abducted after supplying 90 rounds of live ammunition to Umaru,” he said.

Abubakar Umaru a.k.a. Buba Bargu, 35, was one of the gang leaders who abducted Ahmadu.

He is said to be notorious for always killing his victims.

Umaru took over the leadership of the crime syndicate after the gang leader and his deputy were neutralised by security operatives, according to the police.

According to Ahmadu, Umaru is associated with Boko Haram.

At first, Ahmadu thought the kidnapping was a joke.

When he realized it wasn’t, he became defiant because he thought he had some magical protection from bullets.

“I had thought the bullet won’t enter when Umaru faced me because of the charm I had,” Ahmadu said.

“I boasted I had charms and could not be shot, but Umaru shot me to show how serious he was about collecting ransom from me before,” Ahmadu said, holding out his injured left arm as evidence.

Seeing how serious his abductor was, Ahmadu mobilized his own gang members and from the proceeds of his own kidnapping ventures and ammunition sales, they raised N1,555,000.00 to pay for his freedom.

The kidnapper said he was very familiar with Umaru’s ruthless reputation as a kidnap kingpin, saying, “I witnessed an operation where Buba (Umaru) kidnapped 55 persons from a luxurious bus at a time.”

Ahmadu said he himself has been a veteran in the kidnapping business and managed to save up to N15m from his ventures.

The kidnapper’s kidnapper, Umaru confirmed his reputation as a notorious terror of travellers on the highways, saying he has been in the business for the past three years and had been in a gang with a certain Buji before he became his own boss.

“I broke up with Buji to form my own kidnap gang because of unfairness in sharing ransom money,” Umaru said.

The kidnappers were arrested alongside a man who claims to perform rituals for them.

Jafaru Umar Suleiman said he provided “spiritual guidance” to the kidnappers whenever they were going for operations.

Suleiman was paraded alongside 23 other suspects for various offences like murder, kidnapping, armed robbery among others at the headquarters of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Abuja.

When Daily Trust asked him, what led him to crime, Suleiman said he accepted to offer prayers for the kidnappers because things were rough for him.

He said that he had received huge sums of money as his shares on several occasions after successful operations by the kidnappers.

“I have been a scholar for a long time but things went bad for me and I relocated to Taraba State. From there, some groups met me and told me to pray for them.

“Initially, I didn’t know what they were doing for a living.

“Subsequently, I came to know that they were kidnappers and I continued as such.

“So, whenever they were going out for operations, they would ask me to pray for them and to see that the operation was successful for that day,” he said.

He claimed that the kidnappers also consulted him when they are going to the markets or other places and he would do his divinations and inform them if it was safe to carry on. All for a fee.

“There was a time they brought N400,000 as my share.

“I have gotten N100,000 twice as my share, N50,000, N30,000 and so on,” he said.

He said his arrest has forced him to repent and urged Nigerians to live in peace.

“For the security agents who have arrested me, this has taught me a great lesson.

“I have turned a new leaf. I will never pray for criminals.

“I will assist security agents in prayers to make sure that all other criminals out there are arrested,” he said.

Police speak

Parading the suspects, Frank Mba, lamented how they (police and other security operatives) are dealing with growing security challenges on a daily basis, describing the kidnappers as “monsters”.

He explained that the Force, in its renewed commitment to advance the gains recorded in the fight against crimes in the country, particularly in the outgone year 2020, arrested no fewer than forty-three criminal suspects have now been arrested in 2021 for various offences.

According to him, eight AK47 rifles, one SMG sterling gun, 236 AK47ammunition, 12 pieces of SMG sterling gun ammunition, two Toyota Camry Saloon Cars, 2006 and 2014 models (already released to the owners), were recovered from the suspected criminals and five AK47 rifles were subsequently recovered.

The police did not disclose how the suspects were arrested or what led to their arrest.

Speaking on the prevalence of kidnappings and other crimes, the Programme Manager, Governance, Peace and Security Unit, UNDP Nigeria, Chukwuma Ume, said the police alone cannot tackle the problem as the input of other institutions like banks and traditional leaders would be required.

In an interview with Daily Trust, Ume said that the police in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice must conclude prosecution of these people.

“Those kidnappers don’t operate in a vacuum. They operate from somewhere.

“They operate in communities, the notorious areas we know about.

“Why don’t we engage the community leaders in those areas for a start?

“When we engage them, they would tell us people with suspicious movements.

“When we engage them, they would not allow them to perpetrate such acts in the communities,” he said.