Niger State Police Command has announced the arrest of a couple in Minna, the state capital over allegations of conspiracy and self-kidnapping.
The command’s spokesperson, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, on Friday said the couple who are residents of Chanchaga Local Government Area of the state was arrested on July 22, in the Limawa area of Minna metropolis.
According to the statement, the suspects identified as Mohammed Mohammed, 35, and his wife Sadiya Ibrahim Umar, 31, are both from Limawa Area of Minna in Chanchaga local government of the state.
It revealed that the couple were arrested by Police Operatives attached to SCID, Minna on Thursday, July 22 at about 12:00pm.
DSP Wasiu Abiodun, however, explained that;
On 15/07/2021 at about 1200hrs, the said Sadiya was reported to have been kidnapped by unknown person(s) having boarded a tricycle at Challenge junction, Maitumbi in Bosso Local Government Area of the State going to Old Airport road Minna after closing from work at Umar Bin Khattab International School Maitumbi.
The statement added that on Friday, July 16, the father of Sadiya Ibrahim Umar was contacted by an unknown caller demanding for N5million ransom which was later reduced to N1million and was dropped at a location in Rafin-Yashi, within the council area (Bosso LGA) on the outskirts Minna for the anonymous caller.
It stated further that on Wednesday, July 21 at about 10: 00hrs, the said Sadiya re-surfaced and was invited by the Police for questioning, stressing that;
During interrogation by the Police, she confessed to having conspired with her husband to fake her kidnap and she was taken to Nugupi village via Paiko in Paikoro Local Government Area of the state, where she was kept by her husband at his friend’s place.
Wasiu Abiodun, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said, the husband also confessed to have collected the wife’s phone and handed it over to one Abdullahi, his friend who negotiated and collected the ransom on his behalf.
He however assured that the case was still under investigation by Police Operatives attached to the SCID, Minna, while effort is ongoing to arrest the said Abdullahi, as of the time of filing this report on Friday in Minna, saying, “the suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as investigation is concluded.”
The command in the statement added;
The statement thereby advised members of the public to be calm and should not panic at every reported case of crime especially kidnapping, highlighting that some of the alleged crimes especially kidnapping were faked and done with the connivance of family members or close associates for monetary gains.
DSP Wasiu Abiodun noted that;
This is the third of its kind in recent times where such crimes were faked. The Police will always be on top of every situation to guarantee security of lives and properties of Nigerlites.
Abiodun said that the suspects would be arraigned in court as soon as the investigation was concluded.
