…Say ‘we received special training in Libya’
The alleged mastermind and kingpin in the kidnapping of Alhaji
Musa Uba, the father-in-law of the Aide-De-Camp to President
Muhammadu Buhari, has told how they negotiated for $30million
ransom with the family of the royal father before they were
arrested by the police.
Abdullahi Mohammed, 26, and an indigene of Kano State, also told
how they treated the monarch with respect while they awaited the
payment in foreign currency.
He said they decided that the ransom be paid in dollars for easy
movement and less suspicion, and that he perfected the kidnap plan
with the help of some indigenes of Daura with the hope of making
huge money since the monarch has wealthy children.
The suspect who was paraded by the police alongside 12 members
of his gang and 27, other suspected criminals in Abuja, said they
were able to keep the district head for over two months through the
help of two members of the gang who received weapon training in
Libya for about two years.
He said that with the help of the two experts who received
special training on how to operate, fire, dismantling and couple an
AK 47 rifle as well as lay ambush and disarm security agents
holding the AK 47 rifles, they were able to keep the monarch for
good 60 days.
They also said that five out of the 13 members of the gang that
participated in the kidnap of the traditional rulers were from
Daura, in Kastina State while two were from Kano State, where they
eventually took their victim to.
Parading the suspects before newsmen in Abuja, Force Public
Relations Officer Frank Mba, said the suspects who were arrested by
men of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response
Team (IRT) and Special Tactical Squad (STS), for kidnapping, armed
robbery, cattle rustling, murder, attempted murder and unlawful
possession of weapons were found to be in possession of nine AK-47
rifles, six assorted weapons, 383 rounds of live ammunition,
bomb-making materials, laptops, mobile phones amongst other
dangerous items at the time of their arrest.
Mba, while noting that the kidnappers succeeded in their
operations with the cooperation of some villagers, called for the
need to carry out a proper screening of domestic staffs before
employing them.
He said some of the suspects were foreigners from Niger Republic
and that the crime was perfected with the help of local criminals
and local collaborators.
He also said five out of the 13 suspects were from Daura, in
Katsina State and two from Kano State where the monarch was rescued
from.
In an interview with journalists shortly after the parade, the
mastermind said: “My name is Yusuf Dahiru.
“We kidnapped the Magaji Daura because we wanted to make money
from him since he has very rich children.
“What we demanded from the family as ransom was $30milion, and
we had not made any profit yet before we were caught by the
police.
“The truth is that I do not know why they targeted the Magaji
Daura; all I know is that my boss brought the job for me to do and
I recruited some of my boys and we went to Daura and executed the
job. We have our master who directs us on what to do and I am a
professional kidnapper.
We were four in number that went for the operation and through
the help of one of our member, Babawali, who is an indigene of
Daura, it was very easy for us to carry out the operation because
he knows the town and knows the movements of everybody.”
On how they treated the traditional ruler while in their
custody, he said: “We treated him very well because we knew his
status. He was specifically handed over to me so I made sure he
received royal treatment for the 60 days that he spent with us. We
never beat him; we did not treat him badly at all. I took very good
care of him and gave him everything that he needed.”
On his part, another gang member, Sarfilu Abdu, who was said to
have given the order for the kidnap, told newsmen that he
participated in the act after he was told that the kidnap was to
force the security agencies to release some of their members in
their custody. He said he never knew that it was for making money
otherwise, he would not have participated.
According to him, “three months ago, I was contacted by some
members of my group that they wanted me to lead them to Daura, to
kidnap the Magaji Daura. What they told me was that they were
kidnapping him for an exchange of their members who were in
detention so I agreed and led the operation.
“But I was surprised because after the kidnapping, they began to
demand ransom.”
Also speaking, another member of the gang who said he
specialises in supplying weapons for the group, and the chief
negotiator for the ransom said: “I was told to ask for $30million,
by one Abdullahi Mohamed, also a member of our group. I was also
the one that did the video of the kidnap.
“We were not given any money before we were arrested.”
On his part, another member of the gang who also happens to be
the youngest, at 19, said he had been in the business of providing
Information Communication Technology for kidnappers who usually
contact him. He said, he, alongside his colleague had done several
videos for kidnappers before he was arrested.
Another suspect, Abdullahi Mohammed, from Kano State, said: “I
got into the kidnap through one Suleiman and I had participated in
two kidnap operations where we kidnapped some expatriates before my
friend, Bilal, introduced me to the operation at Daura.
To become perfect in the act of kidnapping, he said he received
training in Libya where he was taught some skills in how to
assemble, dismantle, shoot and kill and how to disarm security
agents.
According to him, “I am 19, years old and I have been in the
kidnapping business for some time now and made money.
“We did the video and the negotiation for the group. Because I
wanted to excel in the business, I went to Libya for training where
I spent 18 months. I was trained in how to operate the AK47 riffle,
they taught me how to fire and how to dismantle and couple the AK
47; they also trained me in how to disarm security agents who are
holding AK 47 riffles and on how to lay ambush.
“These are the trainings we received in Libya. Among the 13 of
us that were arrested, two of us went for the training, Ibrahim and
I. We were sent there on sponsorship.”
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