By Danmaryam Zayamu
Police operatives have arrested a deadly criminal gang responsible for the kidnap and murder of a Catholic Seminarian, Nnadi Michael of the Catholic Good Shepherd Major Seminary at Gonin Gora, Kakau in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
The gang had stormed the Catholic Seminary on January 9, 2020 and kidnapped four seminarians, murdered one of them in cold blood and released the remaining three on 31st January, 2020, even after having obtained a ransom.
The body of the fourth Seminarian were found in a bush where it abandoned by the gang.
A statement issued by Police Force spokesman, Frank MBA, today, disclosed that the suspects, all male, are: Tukur Usman, aged 37 and a father of seven; Shehu Bello, aged 40, a father of five; and Mustapha Mohammed, aged 30, father of one.
They all hail from Igabi LGA of Kaduna State and were arrested after several months of intensive and extensive intelligence-led operations by crack detectives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
Mba stated further that investigations have revealed that the arrested suspects are part of a 19-man gang that also carried out the kidnap of Dr. Phillip Ataga’s wife and two daughters on January 24, 2020 at Juji Community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“Mrs. Ataga was killed by the gang following her heroic resistance to the despicable and inhuman attempt by the leader of the gang to rape her. The suspects after killing her released the daughters and corpse of the slain woman to the family after collecting ransom.
“Further investigations reveal that the same criminal gang is responsible for the kidnap of six students and two teachers of Engravers College, Chikun LGA, Kaduna, from their school premises on October 3, 2019.
“The suspects, known to belong to a hybrid terrorist criminal network causing untold havoc in North-Central, Nigeria, have confessed to several other random operations along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway where they kidnapped, killed and robbed motorists, collecting ransom and valuables running into millions of naira”, Mba revealed.
The statement added that the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, reiterated that the Force would remain unrelenting in ensuring that crimes across the country are reduced to the barest minimum, while assuring the nation that the Police would not rest until the other fleeing members of the gang responsible for these crimes are apprehended and brought to book.
