Nigeria Police Force (NPF), on Monday in Abuja, paraded 81 suspects over alleged kidnapping, armed robbery, and cybercrime said to have been arrested in Kaduna, Taraba and other parts of the country.
Parading the suspects, Police spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, said among the suspects was a gang of Chadian and Nigerien kidnap suspects and six ex-convicts who abducted a Sokoto businessman and lawmaker.
He said they were apprehended by the Intelligence Response Team and the Special Tactical Squad of the force which also arrested a kidnap gang dressed in military camouflage and Nigerian Air Force uniforms.
He said the Sokoto abductors, who formed their gang while serving jail terms in Katsina prisons, include Rufai Muhammed, Isah Abdullahi, Abdulrasheed Labaran, Abba Zayyanu, Ayuba Awwalu, and Rabiu Ibrahim.
Mohammed, the gang leader, who spoke through an interpreter said: “We became friends when we were serving jail terms in Katsina prison. During interaction, we got to know that we were about completing our jail terms. That was when we decided to shift from armed robbery to kidnapping. This is because we knew we will make more money from it.”
He said the gang operated along Zaria/Kaduna/Kano expressway 12 times, adding that they collected millions of naira in ransom from their victims.
Mba said the sum of N10.1m was recovered from them as well as rifles and rounds of live ammunition.
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