LAGOS OCTOBER 3RD (NEWSRANGERS)-The plot by some kidnappers to get victims at all cost was recently revealed in the confessions of an arrested suspect, Idris Mohammed, who told of how he would charter a vehicle to go on a journey, only to lure the unsuspecting driver into a web already laid to kidnap, and he would need to pay a ransom before regaining freedom.
Not only that, on eventual release after the ransom payment, the driver would get to the spot where his vehicle was abandoned to discover it had disappeared, resulting in a two-way loss.
Mohammed was arrested by the operatives of a high-profile tactical unit of the Nigeria Police Force, the Force Intelligence Department – Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) for alleged kidnap activities.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, had, in a statement, disclosed that Mohammed a.k.a. Yellow was arrested over his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a commercial driver, Idris Zakari Baba, and other related criminal activities.
“Investigation revealed that the victim was allegedly lured under the pretext of conveying Mohammed from Abuja to Zaria, before he was intercepted by armed men, taken into the bush and held until a ransom of ₦3 million was paid. The victim’s vehicle, a 2012 Toyota Corolla, was subsequently traced to Bauchi State and recovered while Mohammed was attempting to sell it,” the FPRO said in a statement.
Further investigation, according to Iniedu, also linked the suspect to the reported kidnapping of one Pastor David Dahni and his driver, Abdullahi Abubakar, for which a ransom of ₦10.5 million was reportedly paid.
Saturday Tribune gathered that before his arrest, Mohammed, an indigene of Bauchi State, was allegedly operating as an informant, bandit and kidnapper who lured unsuspecting drivers to locations where armed kidnappers abducted and extorted them. Mohammed was reported to have travelled from Abuja to Zaria with a driver he had hired for ₦300,000, with the man unaware of the suspect’s criminal intention.
On their way, Mohammed reportedly made a phone call, after which six armed kidnappers on three motorcycles intercepted them. The kidnappers were said to have initially taken both Mohammed and the driver, but they were later separated. The kidnappers had told the driver that Mohammed had been killed, threatening to kill him unless he paid ₦3 million. In fear, the driver contacted his relatives who raised the ransom, after which he was released.
However, when the driver returned to look for his vehicle, it was missing. It was later discovered that Mohammed, who the kidnappers had claimed was killed, had taken the vehicle to Bauchi State. While attempting to sell it, a phone number found inside the car was used to verify its ownership, and the person contacted turned out to be the vehicle’s owner, who explained what had happened. This led to Mohammed’s arrest in Bauchi State, and he was subsequently brought to Abuja, where he reportedly confessed to the incident. The vehicle was recovered and released to its owner on bond.
Saturday Tribune further learnt that another driver/victim allegedly recognised Mohammed after seeing a video of his arrest. The second victim reportedly told investigators that Mohammed had used a similar method against him and when interrogated, Mohammed confessed that he had taken the victim’s vehicle to Niger State with another person to sell it. It was said that the vehicle had not yet been recovered, although arrangements were being made to retrieve it.
In an interview, Mohammed, aged 27, confessed to the allegations against him. The suspect, who is also married to two wives and has one child, said that he started mining three years ago before he began engaging in kidnapping.
How kidnap operation was planned
Mohammed told Saturday Tribune that the idea to start kidnapping was conceived with his three friends – Haruna, Yahuza and Dawah – who are currently at large. He revealed: “It was Yahuza who brought the idea. On an invitation from Yahuza, I left Bauchi for a village in Zaria where we met to plan the operation.” On how he met Yahuza, the suspect said that he saw him on Tiktok in March. “ I saw Yahuza with a rifle in a military uniform, but I could deduce that he doesn’t belong to the profession. I perceived him to be one of the criminals in the bush, so, I contacted him, and he confirmed what I suspected him to be.”
Mohammed gave his reason for deciding to go into crime: “I was in the mining business and was doing well. Along the line, I lost my capital and there was no other means of livelihood. When I met with Yahuza and saw he’s one of the bandits/kidnappers, I decided to join him. Yahuza asked if I was also a member of a bandit gang, and I told him I was not, but ready to start. Yahuza agreed to take me in and said that I should start by bringing a victim,” he explained.
The suspect said that to achieve this, he decided on his own to go for drivers, pretending to be a passenger. And on May 14, he got his first victim into the kidnappers’ net.
The first operation
“There is guy called Babandi who told me he has a master who is in New Karu, Nyanya, FCT. Babandi said his master told him he has a brother who is a serving Senator but would not give him money unless he faked his own kidnapping. Yahuza took me to the master, and we planned how to do the operation. Meanwhile, Babandi’s master has a friend who is a miner, and it was believed that he has money, so, we convinced him that there is a mining site somewhere. We got a driver who is a neighbour to Babandi’s master and deceived him into believing we were going to Tamare Village in Zaria for a condolence visit. The driver agreed, charged us an amount which I paid for, and we left Abuja. The gang members told me that they would refund my money if the plan failed.
“On the way to the village, I made a call to Yahuza and suddenly, bandits on motorcycles, with AK-47 rifles and ammunition, surrounded us. I had already told Yahuza how to identify the Senator’s brother and the miner who were in the car. I also told Yahuza that the driver is the owner of the car he was using to convey us, which showed he had money. So, he was our target too.
“The bandits who surrounded us brought me, Babandi, his master and the driver out of the car, abandoned it and put us on the motorcycles they brought, firing shots into the air. When the bandits got to a point in the bush, they told the miner that they had killed me and Babandi, asking him to pay a ransom for his survival. They said the same thing to the driver and Babandi’s master. Immediately, the victims started calling their relatives and the driver was able to raise N3 million. The miner paid N7.5 million and the man who wanted to fake his own kidnap convinced his relatives who paid N11 million.”
Saturday Tribune learnt that during the ordeal, the driver and Babandi’s master were with the kidnappers for three days while the miner remained in captive for six weeks before regaining freedom.
Meanwhile, Mohammed said that Babandi went to where the driver’s car was abandoned, and drove to Azare in Bauchi State, where he handed it over to him. From Bauchi, Mohammed drove the car to Damaturu, Yobe State, and kept it with his friend. The suspect told the IRT operatives that the car is still with the friend, and efforts are being made to recover it.
When asked about the amount he got as his share of the ransom paid, Mohammed said he was not given any money, but got the driver’s car and the N39,000 given to him for fuel purchase to take it to his friend.
Eight days after the first operation, Mohammed and his gang members struck again, precisely on May 22. This time around, he went to a motor park in Abuja alone, asking for a driver that would take him to Zaria. His dressing, Saturday Tribune learnt, depicted him as a big and comfortable man. One of the drivers reportedly, identified as Idris Zakari, agreed to take him to and from Zaria for N350,000.
Mohammed explained how the operation went: “I gave the driver N60,000 for fuel, with a promise to pay him more in Zaria. On getting to Zaria, I directed the driver to a village, but he refused, reminding me that the agreement was Zaria, and the distance from the town to the village is about 50 kilometres which would consume fuel. Based on this, I offered to pay an additional N50,000, to which the driver agreed.
“On the way, I made a call, speaking Fulfude and Fuladanci to the bandits, knowing that the driver only understood English, Nupe, and Hausa. Before the driver knew it, we were suddenly surrounded by six bandits on three motorcycles, with three AK-47 rifles. The bandits ordered me and the driver out of the car and put us on motorcycles.”
At a point, the driver was said to have noticed that he could not perceive the sound of a motorcycle again, and on getting to the spot they wanted to hold him hostage, they deceived him into believing that Mohammed had been killed and his corpse left at the spot where life was snuffed out of him. They demanded N3 million as ransom from the driver, warning him to either cooperate with them or get killed also.
The driver, who had been turned into a jelly with the threat to his life, quickly made calls to his relatives and was able to raise the money in a day, which made him regain freedom.
However, on the driver’s return to where his car was abandoned, he was shocked to see that it had disappeared, which made him return home in sadness. But surprisingly, he received a call, asking him if he was the owner of a car that was for sale.
According to information gathered by Saturday Tribune, what led to the phone call was that after Mohammed took the car for sale, the intending buyer noticed that it had been repainted from ash colour to red, which raised suspicion. The buyer decided to check the car and got the phone number of the supposed owner. The buyer and his friends were said to have told Mohammed that they would call the owner, to which he confidently gave his consent, unaware that it was preparation for the exposure of his alleged criminal act. The owner answered the call, and when he was notified of the issue at stake, he quickly told the buyer not to let go of the seller and narrated his experience to him. The intending buyer and others were reported to have quickly held on to Mohammed, and the FID-IRT operatives were informed by the victim who had initially reported the case to them.
The operatives immediately swung into action, went to Bauchi with the victim, who had yet to know that his passenger who was said to have been killed was the mastermind of everything and the seller of his car, until he got to where he was held in custody for the operatives. The driver was shocked.
When asked his feelings about all he did, the suspect said: “I regret what I have done. I pray that the Almighty God forgives me.” He said that his wives already know of his arrest but are not aware of the crime he committed, while his parents thought it was about a stolen vehicle only.
The FPRO said that the Nigeria Police Force would continue to investigate the cases to identify other persons connected to the criminal activities and establish the full extent of the suspects’ involvement.
Nigeria Tribune
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