Cooperate with kidnappers for your safety, police tell Nigerians

The Police High Command on Tuesday counselled members of the public to cooperate with kidnappers if they fall victim, for their own safety and to avoid being killed.

The Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police, gave the advice in Abuja while parading 48 suspected high tech criminals including one 25-year-old Haliru Mohammed, who masterminded the kidnap of his cousin, one Binta, for ransom when he could not repay a loan from her.

CP Mba in the company of the Commander of Police, Police Intelligence Response Team (Police-IRT), told newsmen that the operatives of the Police-IRT led by DCP Olatunji Disu rounded up the suspects across different locations in the country following credible tip-offs.

This came as one of the paraded suspects pleaded with his comrades in the world of crime to repent and leave the unproductive profession in their own interest.

The suspects were paraded for criminal activities including kidnapping, culpable homicide, armed robbery, car theft, illegal possession of firearms and housebreaking amongst others at the IRT office in Guzape, Abuja.

During the parade, Mba advised the members of the public especially kidnap victims not to struggle with the kidnappers, but to cooperate so as to be rescued by Police and other security forces who were always on the alert to combat the criminals.

Mba told newsmen that Abubakar Harilu, 36, was nabbed by the IRT for kidnapping one Binta Mohammed, 48, a cousin of his who gave him a loan for the purchase of tricycles.

The suspect reportedly lured Binta to the kidnappers’ den and instructed them to extort money and kill her after he failed to repay the loan she gave him.

According to Mba, fortunately for her, she escaped from the kidnappers in their hideout in Jigawa on the first day but landed in the den of other kidnappers but was able to make contact with the IRT Police team which led to the arrest of the suspect.

The Police also paraded two other kidnappers Salisu Abdullahi (28) and Babangida Usman (21), who were said to belong to a very wicked and notorious kidnap gang that kidnapped a professor at ATBU Bauchi and one owner of a filling station in Kaduna State.

The same criminal gang group was also paraded for kidnapping a Catholic priest, Rev Fr Tony Bawa who was later released by the gang, among other crimes allegedly committed by them.

The police paraded three armed robbery suspects Abel Namfa (23), Nankum Wasiu (32) and Jonah Patrick (25), who were in Jos for robbing a man of his Toyota Corolla car and selling it to procure ammunitions for criminal activities.

Some exhibits recovered from the suspects include one GPMG, three AK-47 rifles, 10 laptop computers and some other arms and live ammunition.

The Force image-maker noted that most victims of kidnap were persons related to their captors.

He assured that the police and other security agencies were not relenting on closing in on these criminally-minded persons.

Mba assured that all the suspects would be charged to the courts after the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.

(Nigerian Tribune)