John Adams, Minna
The Niger State Police Command has announced the death of three suspected kidnappers in Tufa village in Gawu Babangida local government area of the state following a gun battle with a team of police and local vigilantes.
The police gave the names of the suspected bandits/kidnappers as Abdulqadir Abubakar (20), Nuhu Shuaibu (22) of Goyi village Gwagwalada and Musa Maisaje (20) of Dobi Kaida all from Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A statement by the Command’s spokesman said that those killed were part of a seven-man gang of suspected kidnappers who invaded Tufa village attempting to kidnap some prominent farmers in the area.
Luck, however, ran out on the kidnappers when the police received a distress call, prompting a joint police/vigilante team led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Gawu Babangida division to be mobilised to the scene, engaging the hoodlums in a fierce gun battle, during which three of them were killed.
Item recovered from the suspected kidnappers, according to the police spokesman, includes “one AK-47 rifle with erased breach number, one empty magazine, one pump-action and Army camouflage uniform.”
According to him, the suspects all died at Umar Musa Memorial Hospital in Sabon Wuse where they were taken for treatment after sustaining gun injuries they sustained during the shootout.
He pointed out that the manhunt has been launched to track down and arrest the fleeing four members of the syndicate while the case is under investigation.
Meanwhile, the police have also arrested a 36-year-old woman identified as Fatima Sani of Gobirawa village in Mashegun local government area of the state for the death of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, Aisha Umar, after stabbing her.
The suspect, who is currently in police custody was said to have accused her mother-in-law of having a hand in her divorce from her husband, Mallam Sani Umar.
According to the police spokesman who confirmed the incident, the suspect left Gobirawa village where she has been staying after her divorce with her husband and travelled to Tozon Daji.
On arrival there, she was said to have secretly entered the deceased mother in-law’s room where she stabbed her to death for supposedly instigating her son to divorce her.
The police spokesman said the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Mallam Adamu Usman, has reassured members of the public that “the police will continue to redouble its efforts to stem the tide of criminality in the State and, therefore, solicits the support of the people to always give useful and timely information to the police.”