Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force say they have arrested a suspected kidnapper believed to be involved in the abduction and murder of Nabeeha, daughter of a Bwari lawyer.
The Police stated that 28-year-old Bello Mohammed was apprehended in a Kaduna hotel raid on January 20th, with N2.25 million in suspected ransom money.
Under questioning, Mohammed reportedly confessed to being part of the gang that kidnapped Barrister Ariyo’s family members in Bwari on January 2nd.
The Police made this known via an official Press release on Sunday [today]. The statement reads in part:
“The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on 20th January 2024, had arrested one Bello Mohammed, 28, of Zamfara state, in Kaduna.
“The Divisional Police Officer, Tafa Division, acting on intelligence, raided one hotel in Tafa Area, Kaduna, where he arrested Bello, with the sum of N2.25m (Two Million, two hundred and fifty thousand naira) only, suspected to be proceeds of ransoms collected from kidnapped victims within the area.”
The suspect reportedly further admitted that the gang killed some of the victims, including Nabeeha, in a camp in Kaduna State on January 13th.
According to the statement, Mohammed offered a N1 million bribe to the DPO leading the operation, SP Idris Ibrahim. But Ibrahim rejected the inducement and arrested the suspect.
“The suspect, during interrogation, confessed to being part of the gang that kidnapped the family members of one Barrister Ariyo in Bwari, FCT, on 2nd January 2024, and killed some kidnapped victims, including Nabeeha, F, daughter of the legal practitioner, on 13th January 2024, in a kidnappers’ camp in Kaduna State.
“The suspect, in a dramatic situation, offered N1,000,000 (one million naira only) to induce the DPO, who rejected the offer and carried out his duty diligently.”
Mohammed also reportedly confessed to the involvement of five bandits already neutralised by police in Kaduna. Their camp was also destroyed.
The suspect is being transferred to the IRT in Abuja for further investigations and to apprehend other accomplices. Mohammed is currently assisting the police with their investigation.
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has ordered that the suspect, who also confessed to the involvement of the already five (5) neutralised bandits in Kaduna by the IRT, headed by one Mai Gemu (aka Godara), whose deadly camp has also been destroyed, be handed over to the DFI-IRT in Abuja for discreet investigations into the matter and arrest of all other culprits responsible for the dastardly act. The suspect is currently helping the police in their investigations,” the statement noted.
Recall that about 19 abductees were taken away by bandits from the Sagwari Estate Layout in the Dutsen-Alhaji area in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The kidnappers had demanded N700m ransom for nine of their victims.
The kidnappers also killed four of the hostages, including Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-Level student of Biological Science at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State; and 13-year-old Folashade Ariyo.
Nabeeha was abducted alongside six of her siblings, who were kidnapped with their father, Alhaji Mansoor Al-Kadriyar, from their home at Zuma 1, on the outskirts of Bwari town in Abuja on January 2.
