Hyacinth Chinweuba/Richard Ginika Izuora
The Katsina Police Command has succeeded in rescuing twenty – six (26) kidnapped victims at Dungun-Mu’azu village, Sabuwa LGA of Katsina state.
The Police said that on the 6th January, 2020 bandits on fifty motorcycles, numbering over a hundred attacked – Badna – Buruku village of Chukum LGA of Kaduna state and kidnapped twenty-six (26) persons – eighteen males (18) and eight females (8) and took them on motorcycles into a forest in Zamfara state.
The hoodlums demanded for the payment of one million naira per head from their families, totaling the sum of twenty-six (26) million naira as ransom or they kill all the victims.
The command however, succeeded in rescuing the victims at Dangun Mu’azu forest, Sabuwa LGA of Katsina state who were found wandering.
They were taken to Ibrahim Coomasie Police Hospital Katsina for treatment and the Command is making effort to reunite them with their families.
Similarly, the Katsina Police has succeeded in busting a notorious syndicate of fraudsters who specialized in deceiving unsuspecting businessmen by falsely parading themselves as Officers of the Nigeria Custom Service, Katsina.
Nemesis caught up with the syndicate when one Lawal Abubakar, m, aged 47yrs of Hayin Gada, Dutsinma LGA of Katsina state, a dismissed soldier, in collaboration with five others, fraudulently deceived one Mark Udoh, m, aged 46yrs of Funtua LGA of Katsina state that they are officers of the Nigeria Custom Service, Katsina and offered to sell six hundred (600) bags of auctioned rice to him at the cost of seven million and two hundred thousand (N7.2M) in which he paid four million and five hundred thousand naira cash to the fraudsters.
Suspects arrested include, Lawal Abubakar, m, aged 47yrs of Hayin-Gada, Dutsinma – Impersonates Comptroller of customs Abubakar Mohd, m, aged 45yrs of Filin Lazio, Hotoro Quarters, Nassarawa LGA of Kano state- impersonate Orderly to Comptroller of Customs Sani Mohd, m, aged 38yrs of Bakiyawa village, Batagarawa LGA of Katsina state – impersonate as custom officer Kabir Sani, m, aged 50yrs of Rahamawa Quarters, Katsina – impersonate as Transporter of the rice
Aliyu Ahmed, , aged 35yrs of Tsamiya Babba Quarters, Kano state- member of the syndicate Mallam Muttaqa Ukashatu, m, 51yrs, of Unuwar mallamai Jibia – member of the syndicate
Suspects confessed to the commission of the offence and the role played by each member of the syndicate and amount received as loot.
In another development, one Sanusi Muhammad, m, of Dangani village, Musawa LGA of Katsina state reported at Musawa Division that unknown persons were threatening him with phone calls that he should pay the sum of three million naira (N3, 000, 000:00K) or else they will be coming to kidnap him or any member of his family. Similarly, one Alhaji Danladi Abdu, m, of Musawa LGA of Katsina state reported a similar complaint that he received a similar threat using the same GSM number and demanded to pay to the kidnappers the sum of one million naira (N1,000,000:00) or risk being kidnapped.
In the course of investigation a combine team of police and repentant bandits laid ambush for the hoodlums at the point of collecting the ransom and arrested one Kabiru Abdullahi, m, aged 45yrs and Mamuda Abdullahi, m, aged 35yrs of Kiryoyi village, Musawa LGA of Katsina state who went to pick the ransom. Suspects confessed to the commission of the offence. Today 5/2/2020 at about 13:00hrs, one of the suspect Mamuda Abdullahi led SARS operatives to a hideout in a bush at Musawa forest and recovered the sum of six hundred thousand naira (N600,000:00k) money part of the money he collected as ransom from their victims.
Investigation is ongoing the Police said.