Police arrest kidnapper collecting ransom through banks

The police in Suleja, Niger State, have arrested one of the suspected kidnappers who were collecting ransom through banks in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This is just as the owner of the bank account used by the kidnappers, Babawi Abba, hired a lawyer to defend him in order to prove his innocence in the matter.

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Daily Trust had reported that the husband of one of the kidnappers’ victims, Saheed Adewuyi, paid the sum of N500,000 into an Access Bank account with number 1403762272 and the name Badawi Abba Enterprise.

Our correspondent, who was at the police station on Thursday to get an update on the matter, reports that the owner of the account was, however, not arrested by the police, and the suspected kidnapper was also not handcuffed.

Meanwhile, the Area Command invited Mr Adewuyi to make a statement on the matter, after which the Commander directed one Insp. Idris, family members of the suspected kidnappers and the lawyer to settle the matter with Adewuyi but he (Adewuyi) said it was not his matter and as such, there was nothing to settle.

The parties, including the Police, kept on pestering Adewuyi to allow the matter to rest, saying “the suspect was just a victim of circumstances” but Adewuyi asked the police to allow the suspect to produce other suspects whom he gave money to after withdrawing it.

Also speaking, Abba, the account owner, explained that he never knew anything about the incident until his banker, Access Bank contacted him to ask for what was happening, adding that he immediately contacted his lawyer to help him out.

He said he could remember that in June, he truly gave his details to someone operating a Point of Sales (POS) business beside his shop at the popular Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida market, Suleja, Niger State.

A police officer, while speaking to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said they (police) had in the past discovered a lot of kidnapping cases but it was covered by some top politicians in the country.

The Investigation Police Officer (IPO) of the case, one Insp. Idris told our correspondent on the phone that the case would be transferred to the anti-kidnapping unit in Minna, Niger State capital.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Police, FCT Command, Maryam Yusuf, noted that the case was in Niger State jurisdiction and she directed our correspondent to the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.

Abiodun, in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, promised to get back to Daily Trust when he finishes his findings from officers at Suleja.