By Davidson Iriekpen
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami is
seriously under attack for removing the names of 10 soldiers named
as accomplices in the kidnapping charges involving an alleged
Taraba State kidnapping kingpin, Bala Hamisu, also known as Wadume,
Davidson Iriekpen writes
The story was not only chilling, the pictures that accompanied
the dastardly act were gory and sent jitters down the spine of many
Nigerians. Initially, many did not believe that the incident
happened in Nigeria until when the kidnap kingpin, Bala Hamisu,
a.k.a Wadume, was arrested.
He later told a shocked nation that some officers of the
Nigerian Army actually assisted him to escape arrest.
Ten months down the line, not only have the officers not been
court-martialled and handed over to the police for prosecution,
suspicion has heightened that their atrocious act is about to be
swept under the carpet.
Wadume was on the wanted list of the Nigeria Police for
kidnapping in Taraba and neighbouring states for a long time. He
was specifically wanted for killing his victim, Usman Garba, after
receiving N106.3million as ransom. He was assisted to escape from
the custody of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) by soldiers
attached to Battalion 93, Takum. The soldiers also attacked the
police team conveying the kidnap kingpin to the Taraba State police
headquarters in Jalingo on August 6, 2019.
Three policemen and two civilians working with the IRT were
killed during the incident, while five other police officers were
injured. The policemen who died were Inspector Mark Ediale,
Sergeants Usman DanAzumi and Dahiru Musa.
They were killed by the soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo road in
Taraba State, on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 after they had succeeded
in arresting Wadume, an alleged kidnap kingpin who was on their
wanted persons’ list for months. He was reportedly rescued after
the soldiers had gunned down the cops.
The fugitive was subsequently re-arrested at his hideout at
Layin Mai Allo Hotoro area of Kano State following a manhunt
launched by the police special forces and IRT led by DCP Abba
Kyari.
In a viral video released shortly after he was re-arrested,
Wadume had admitted that he was rescued from police custody by
soldiers who also cut off his handcuffs. He had also told the
detectives how he met the commander of the troops attached to 93
Battalion, Takum, led by one Captain Tijjani Balarabe at the palace
of the district head of Ibi town, from where they struck friendship
after the gang leader gave him N30,000.
In a confesssion after he was re-arrested in Kano, the
kidnapping kingpin had told his interrogators in Abuja that: “The
police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army chased
after them and opened fire. From there, they (soldiers) took me to
their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me. I went
back to my house, but the police came to re-arrest me.”
The kingpin, who was a fish trader before he delved into arms
trafficking and subsequently kidnapping, also claimed to have
fuelled army patrol vehicles.
The Board of Inquiry (BOI) constituted to probe the matter had
on October 8, released its report and recommended that the army and
police should further investigate Captain Tijjani Balarabe,
Sergeant Ibrahim Mohammed, Corporal Bartholomew Obanye, Divisional
Crime Officer (DCO), Ibi Police Division, ASP Aondoona Lorbee and
Insp. Aliyu Dadje for complacency.
The Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Defence Headquarters
was headed by Rear Admiral I.T. Olaiya. The BOI, in a statement by
acting Director of Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, also
recommended that further investigation be conducted on Wadume for
gunrunning and kidnapping. It was, however, gathered that no
further trial had been carried out in line with the recommendation
of the probe panel.
Apart from the fact that police investigations showed that the
army captain exchanged 191 phone conversations with the kidnap
kingpin between July 9 and August 6, 2019, in one instance, the
logs showed that the two men exchanged 166 phone calls. Documents
also showed that Wadume similarly made several calls to the Ibi
DCO.
The crime officer was alleged to have made over 200 phone calls
to Wadume while the station officer allegedly destroyed evidence
showing that the IRT operatives documented the operation to arrest
the kidnap kingpin at the Ibi Police Station.
To worsen his case, Capt Balarabe in his statement to the joint
investigation panel set up by the Chief of Defence Staff admitted
that Wadume was his friend, noting that the alleged kingpin once
gave him fish worth N50,000. Balarabe also said that Wadume gave
him N200,000 to repair a patrol van which was having mechanical
problems.
“The N200,000 he gave me was as a result of the challenges we
had with the vehicle for patrolling the community. The local
government chairman repaired two patrol vans as the Battalion
(military) only gave me N7,000 for four months for fuel,” the
captain stated.
On the attack on the IRT team, the commander explained that he
was informed by a resident that Wadume was abducted by unknown
persons in a bus, adding that he radioed the troops at the
checkpoints to intercept the policemen.
He added, “I interviewed one of the men who said they were sent
from Abuja to arrest Alhaji (Wadume). We moved the injured to the
hospital and the DCO Wukari confirmed that they are policemen.
“When I arrived at my camp, my soldiers, DCO Ibbi, ASP Lorbee
and a civilian were removing the handcuffs from Alhaji. After
removing the handcuffs, I asked Alhaji to ask the crowd to leave so
that we can do our work.”
Balarabe disclosed that he asked the DCO to switch off his phone
to prevent the military police from reaching him.
Many are wondering why it is difficult to prosecute the officers
who committed the heinous crime? Already, tongues are wagging that
instead of answering hard questions inside the courtroom, Capt
Balarabe has been transferred away from Taraba State and sent on a
course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, where
he is cooling off in a classroom.
The first sign that the Army was trying to shield the soldiers
from prosecution came on March 16, 2020, when the matter was first
mentioned in court. Mr. Simon Lough, the lawyer who was then
prosecuting the case on IG’s behalf, complained to the judge that
he was unable to produce the 10 soldiers in court because the Army
authorities refused to release them. This prompted Justice Binta
Nyako, to issue an order directing the Chief of Army Staff,
Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to release the 10 soldiers, including the
army captain, for arraignment. This order was ignored by the Army
authorities.
Surprisingly, on June 3 the Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), announced that
he had taken over the case from the Inspector-General of Police
(IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, citing the “bureaucracy” in bringing the
soldiers to court and the need to allow the case to begin quickly
as the reason for the amendment to the charges.
By the time the suspects were to be arraigned last Tuesday at
the Federal High Court in Abuja, and the prosecuting counsel, Mr.
Shuaibu Labaran, announced an amendment to the charges with the
names of 10 soldiers and one police officer named as accomplices in
the kidnapping charges were conspicuously missing, Nigerians did
not need an explanation that they were being shielded from
prosecution.
Apart from Captain Baralabe, other soldiers implicated in the
killing and whose names were removed in the amended charges are,
Staff Sgt. David Isaiah; Sgt. Ibrahim Mohammed; Corporal
Bartholomew Obanye; Private Mohammed Nura; Lance Corporal Okorozie
Gideon; Corporal Markus Michael; L/Corporal Nvenaweimoeimi Akpagra;
and Staff Sgt. Abdullahi Adamu, and Private Ebele Emmanuel.
A policeman’s name, ASP Aondona Iorbee, as well as the name of
one Ahmad Suleiman (aka Dan Ball); was also struck off the
charge.
While the delay in prosecuting him and others had heightened
concern among family members of the victims and suspicion among
colleagues of the deceased in the police that they may never get
justice, the dropping of the names in the amended charge by AGF
without any explanation has further confirmed attempts to let the
soldiers off the hook.
Those diligently monitoring the case are wondering how the AGF
and the Army would set a man with a strong confessional statement
free. They even wondered how the AGF wants to successfully
prosecute Wadume without the soldiers and policemen who aided and
abetted him in the crime, especially when they are all tide to the
evidence before the court.
This is why like many issues in Nigeria, observers imputing
ethnic dimensions to the case with many attributing the delay in
prosecuting Captain Balarabe to the fact it is because he is from a
certain section of the country. They wondered if he was a
southerner if it would have been difficult to prosecute him the
same way it is now?
They believe that anti-social and heinous crimes occur and prevail
because after the initial noise, everything dies down, lacking
diligent follow up to ensure a satisfactorily punitive, deterrent
and rehabilitative final resolution.
By Davidson Iriekpen
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami is
seriously under attack for removing the names of 10 soldiers named
as accomplices in the kidnapping charges involving an alleged
Taraba State kidnapping kingpin, Bala Hamisu, also known as Wadume,
Davidson Iriekpen writes
The story was not only chilling, the pictures that accompanied
the dastardly act were gory and sent jitters down the spine of many
Nigerians. Initially, many did not believe that the incident
happened in Nigeria until when the kidnap kingpin, Bala Hamisu,
a.k.a Wadume, was arrested.
He later told a shocked nation that some officers of the
Nigerian Army actually assisted him to escape arrest.
Ten months down the line, not only have the officers not been
court-martialled and handed over to the police for prosecution,
suspicion has heightened that their atrocious act is about to be
swept under the carpet.
Wadume was on the wanted list of the Nigeria Police for
kidnapping in Taraba and neighbouring states for a long time. He
was specifically wanted for killing his victim, Usman Garba, after
receiving N106.3million as ransom. He was assisted to escape from
the custody of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) by soldiers
attached to Battalion 93, Takum. The soldiers also attacked the
police team conveying the kidnap kingpin to the Taraba State police
headquarters in Jalingo on August 6, 2019.
Three policemen and two civilians working with the IRT were
killed during the incident, while five other police officers were
injured. The policemen who died were Inspector Mark Ediale,
Sergeants Usman DanAzumi and Dahiru Musa.
They were killed by the soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo road in
Taraba State, on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 after they had succeeded
in arresting Wadume, an alleged kidnap kingpin who was on their
wanted persons’ list for months. He was reportedly rescued after
the soldiers had gunned down the cops.
The fugitive was subsequently re-arrested at his hideout at
Layin Mai Allo Hotoro area of Kano State following a manhunt
launched by the police special forces and IRT led by DCP Abba
Kyari.
In a viral video released shortly after he was re-arrested,
Wadume had admitted that he was rescued from police custody by
soldiers who also cut off his handcuffs. He had also told the
detectives how he met the commander of the troops attached to 93
Battalion, Takum, led by one Captain Tijjani Balarabe at the palace
of the district head of Ibi town, from where they struck friendship
after the gang leader gave him N30,000.
In a confesssion after he was re-arrested in Kano, the
kidnapping kingpin had told his interrogators in Abuja that: “The
police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army chased
after them and opened fire. From there, they (soldiers) took me to
their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me. I went
back to my house, but the police came to re-arrest me.”
The kingpin, who was a fish trader before he delved into arms
trafficking and subsequently kidnapping, also claimed to have
fuelled army patrol vehicles.
The Board of Inquiry (BOI) constituted to probe the matter had
on October 8, released its report and recommended that the army and
police should further investigate Captain Tijjani Balarabe,
Sergeant Ibrahim Mohammed, Corporal Bartholomew Obanye, Divisional
Crime Officer (DCO), Ibi Police Division, ASP Aondoona Lorbee and
Insp. Aliyu Dadje for complacency.
The Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Defence Headquarters
was headed by Rear Admiral I.T. Olaiya. The BOI, in a statement by
acting Director of Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, also
recommended that further investigation be conducted on Wadume for
gunrunning and kidnapping. It was, however, gathered that no
further trial had been carried out in line with the recommendation
of the probe panel.
Apart from the fact that police investigations showed that the
army captain exchanged 191 phone conversations with the kidnap
kingpin between July 9 and August 6, 2019, in one instance, the
logs showed that the two men exchanged 166 phone calls. Documents
also showed that Wadume similarly made several calls to the Ibi
DCO.
The crime officer was alleged to have made over 200 phone calls
to Wadume while the station officer allegedly destroyed evidence
showing that the IRT operatives documented the operation to arrest
the kidnap kingpin at the Ibi Police Station.
To worsen his case, Capt Balarabe in his statement to the joint
investigation panel set up by the Chief of Defence Staff admitted
that Wadume was his friend, noting that the alleged kingpin once
gave him fish worth N50,000. Balarabe also said that Wadume gave
him N200,000 to repair a patrol van which was having mechanical
problems.
“The N200,000 he gave me was as a result of the challenges we
had with the vehicle for patrolling the community. The local
government chairman repaired two patrol vans as the Battalion
(military) only gave me N7,000 for four months for fuel,” the
captain stated.
On the attack on the IRT team, the commander explained that he
was informed by a resident that Wadume was abducted by unknown
persons in a bus, adding that he radioed the troops at the
checkpoints to intercept the policemen.
He added, “I interviewed one of the men who said they were sent
from Abuja to arrest Alhaji (Wadume). We moved the injured to the
hospital and the DCO Wukari confirmed that they are policemen.
“When I arrived at my camp, my soldiers, DCO Ibbi, ASP Lorbee
and a civilian were removing the handcuffs from Alhaji. After
removing the handcuffs, I asked Alhaji to ask the crowd to leave so
that we can do our work.”
Balarabe disclosed that he asked the DCO to switch off his phone
to prevent the military police from reaching him.
Many are wondering why it is difficult to prosecute the officers
who committed the heinous crime? Already, tongues are wagging that
instead of answering hard questions inside the courtroom, Capt
Balarabe has been transferred away from Taraba State and sent on a
course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, where
he is cooling off in a classroom.
The first sign that the Army was trying to shield the soldiers
from prosecution came on March 16, 2020, when the matter was first
mentioned in court. Mr. Simon Lough, the lawyer who was then
prosecuting the case on IG’s behalf, complained to the judge that
he was unable to produce the 10 soldiers in court because the Army
authorities refused to release them. This prompted Justice Binta
Nyako, to issue an order directing the Chief of Army Staff,
Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to release the 10 soldiers, including the
army captain, for arraignment. This order was ignored by the Army
authorities.
Surprisingly, on June 3 the Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), announced that
he had taken over the case from the Inspector-General of Police
(IG), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, citing the “bureaucracy” in bringing the
soldiers to court and the need to allow the case to begin quickly
as the reason for the amendment to the charges.
By the time the suspects were to be arraigned last Tuesday at
the Federal High Court in Abuja, and the prosecuting counsel, Mr.
Shuaibu Labaran, announced an amendment to the charges with the
names of 10 soldiers and one police officer named as accomplices in
the kidnapping charges were conspicuously missing, Nigerians did
not need an explanation that they were being shielded from
prosecution.
Apart from Captain Baralabe, other soldiers implicated in the
killing and whose names were removed in the amended charges are,
Staff Sgt. David Isaiah; Sgt. Ibrahim Mohammed; Corporal
Bartholomew Obanye; Private Mohammed Nura; Lance Corporal Okorozie
Gideon; Corporal Markus Michael; L/Corporal Nvenaweimoeimi Akpagra;
and Staff Sgt. Abdullahi Adamu, and Private Ebele Emmanuel.
A policeman’s name, ASP Aondona Iorbee, as well as the name of
one Ahmad Suleiman (aka Dan Ball); was also struck off the
charge.
While the delay in prosecuting him and others had heightened
concern among family members of the victims and suspicion among
colleagues of the deceased in the police that they may never get
justice, the dropping of the names in the amended charge by AGF
without any explanation has further confirmed attempts to let the
soldiers off the hook.
Those diligently monitoring the case are wondering how the AGF
and the Army would set a man with a strong confessional statement
free. They even wondered how the AGF wants to successfully
prosecute Wadume without the soldiers and policemen who aided and
abetted him in the crime, especially when they are all tide to the
evidence before the court.
This is why like many issues in Nigeria, observers imputing
ethnic dimensions to the case with many attributing the delay in
prosecuting Captain Balarabe to the fact it is because he is from a
certain section of the country. They wondered if he was a
southerner if it would have been difficult to prosecute him the
same way it is now?
They believe that anti-social and heinous crimes occur and prevail
because after the initial noise, everything dies down, lacking
diligent follow up to ensure a satisfactorily punitive, deterrent
and rehabilitative final resolution.