The men of the Nigerian Police Force have arrested a kidnap kingpin suspected to be the mastermind of the abduction and murder of Nabeeha and Folashade Ariyo in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.
The police said in a statement by Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Sunday that the kidnap suspect, Bello Mohammed, aged 28, was arrested in a Kaduna hotel on January 20, 2024.
According to the statement, the operatives found N2.25 million on him which they suspected to be ransom paid for kidnappers.
The statement added that Mohammed confessed to being part of those who perpetrated the heinous crime of kidnapping and executing Nabeeha and Ariyo in Bwari.
The police added that the suspect is being moved to the IRT in Abuja for further investigation and to apprehend other accomplices.
“The operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, on 20th January, 2024, have arrested one Bello Mohammed, 28, of Zamfara State, in Kaduna.
“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 statement noted.
“He further admitted that the gang killed some of their kidnapped victims, including Nabeeha, in a camp in Kaduna State on January 13th.
According to the statement, Mohammed offered a N1 million bribe to the DPO leading the operation, SP Idris Ibrahim. But Ibrahim rejected the inducement and arrested the suspect.
“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
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has ordered that the suspect, who also confessed to the involvement of the five (5) neutralised bandits in Kaduna by the IRT, headed by one Mai Gemu (aka Godara), whose deadly camp has also been destroyed, be handed over to the DFI-IRT in Abuja for discreet investigations into the matter and arrest of all other culprits responsible for the dastardly act. The suspect is currently helping the police in their investigations,” the statement read.
The bandits had invaded Sagwari Layout Estate, Bwari Area Council on January 7, and took 19 persons into custody.
The kidnappers who abducted and killed Nabeeha and Ariyo sent shock waves all over Nigeria to hasten collection of ransom from the parents and loved ones.
Nabeeha who was abducted alongside her father and five siblings was the daughter of a Bwari based lawyer, Folashade Ariyo, abducted with her mother and three siblings was just 13 years old,
Her father is a struggling civil servants.
They raised the ransom for nine of the victims to N700 million as security operatives intensified efforts to ensure their release.
