From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State Police command has launched a manhunt for three soldiers and two police officers, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), indicted in connection with the assassination attempt on the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa.
The State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) of the Force made the disclosure last Friday, while arraigning five other suspects arrested in connection with the incident at the Chief Magistrate’s Court one in Minna.
Some gunmen suspected to be assassins, two weeks ago, invaded the Minna residence of the Senator, at about 8pm, disguised as whistleblowers who had come to search the senator’s house for alleged stockpiled arms and some foreign currency.
Four of the suspects, Felix Clarkson, Oladele Peter Akano, Abdul Salisu and Inspector Babagana Alhaji, were promptly arrested at the scene when a political ally of the senator alerted the police. The suspected gang leader, Sheriff Jimbarima, was later arrested by the police intelligence department after a manhunt.
The First Information Report (FIR) by the police indicated that the three army officers, said to be from the 31 Artillery Brigade Minna, including CPL Mohammed J., are now at large.
The soldiers were said to be fully armed with AK 47 rifles and had provided security cover during the aborted assassination/kidnapping attempt of the senator.
Police investigation, according to the FIR, also indicated that two of the suspects nabbed at the senator’s house in Minna, Oladele Peter Akano and Sheriff Jimbarima, presented themselves as army personnel and staff from office of the National Security Adviser office Abuja, to enable them gain access to the residence.
The five suspects arraigned in court are Felix Clarkson, Oladele Peter Akano, Abdul Salisu, Inspector Babagana Alhaji and Sheriff Jimbarima.
They are standing trial on six count charges of criminal conspiracy, attempt to commit an offence, to wit, kidnapping, attempt to commit an offence, wit, armed robbery, criminal trespass, personating a public servant and mischief to property.
The prosecuting police officers, ASP Abdullahi Mayaki and Inspector Aliyu Yakubu, argued that the offences contravened sections 3 (1),3 (2) of the kidnapping law of Niger State 2016 and sections 95,348,132, and 327 of the penal code.
They disclosed that during police investigation, the suspects all confessed to have conspired among themselves together with ASP Mohammed Umar, Inspector Yakubu Gabriel and three others at large, to board a bus from Abuja to Minna for the kidnap operation.
“When you all arrived Minna, you were later supported and assisted by three army officers of which, you, Cpl Mohammed, an army personnel, surname unknown, also at large, was dressed in mufti, and two other army personnel dressed in army uniform, armed with AK 47 rifles, deployed from the Nigerian Army Artillery Brigade of the Army Barrack in Minna, all at large, and with intent to kidnap Senator Sani Mohammed Musa 313,” the police said.
When the charges were read to them by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Mallam Adamu Abubakar, they all pleaded not guilty to the charges. The prosecutor, therefore, prayed the court to remand them in correctional custody, to enable the police to arrest the fleeing suspects.
The court ordered the remand of the suspects in Minna correctional custody and adjourned the case to January 3, 2023.