Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have arrested a deadly kidnapper, suspected to be involved in the abduction and murder of Nabeeha, daughter of a Bwari lawyer.
Nabeeha, her father, alongside her sisters were abducted in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on January 9.
The kidnappers were demanding N700m ransom for nine of their victims. They had killed four of the hostages, including Nabeeha Al-Kadriyar, a 400-level student of Biological Science, at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and 13-year-old Folashade Ariyo. Nabeeha was abducted alongside six other siblings.
Announcing the arrest in a statement on Sunday, the police stated that 28-year-old Bello Mohammed was nabbed in a Kaduna hotel raid on January 20th with N2.25 million believed to be the proceeds of kidnapping.
Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said under questioning, Mohammed confessed to being part of the gang that kidnapped Barrister Ariyo’s family members in Bwari on January 2nd.
Adejobi said the suspect offered a N1 million bribe to Idris Ibrahim, the divisional police officer of the Tafa division in Kaduna State.
“The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on 20th January 2024, have arrested one Bello Mohammed, 28, of Zamfara state, in Kaduna,” the statement said.
“The Divisional Police Officer, Tafa Division, acting on intelligence, raided one hotel in Tafa Area, Kaduna, where he arrested Bello, with the sum of #2.25m (Two Million, two hundred and fifty million naira) only, suspected to be proceeds of ransoms collected from kidnapped victims within the area.
“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 #1,000,000 (one million naira only) to induce the DPO, who rejected the offer and carried out his duty diligently.”
Mohammed also confessed to the involvement of five bandits already neutralised by police in Kaduna. Their deadly 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 in their inquiries.
