I spent ransom money on women, alcohol — Suspect

A bandit arrested by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, Abdulrahman Adamu, has confessed that he used his share of ransom money from kidnapped victims to buy liquor and engage with women.

Adamu is among eight suspects paraded on Monday by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu.

Disu, since his resumption, has been working to dismantle the criminal gangs operating in the mountains and hills of Abuja.

The Commissioner of Police identified the suspects as Abdulrahman Giwa, Baba Hassan, Mohammed Dahiru, Abubakar Bature, alias Dayi, Abubakar Kadiri, alias Dare, and Kabiru Ibrahim. Others include Ya’u Adamu and Hussani Ori, also known as Mugu.

Disu stated that the suspects terrorized communities in the FCT, Kaduna, and Niger states. He further revealed that their leader, identified only as Mallam, along with eight others, was killed during a shootout.

“All suspects are members of a kidnapping and banditry gang led by one Mallam (surname unknown), now deceased. During operations targeting the strongholds of the kidnappers in the Kweri and Gauraka Forests, Mallam and eight other suspects were neutralized after an intense exchange of gunfire. Unfortunately, two operatives of the FCT Command sustained serious injuries and are currently receiving treatment in the hospital,” said Disu.

The police recovered several items from the gang, including three AK-47 rifles, 100 rounds of live 7.62 ammunition, and 10 AK-47 magazines. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining gang members and recover more arms and ammunition.

In an interview with journalists, Adamu confessed to making a substantial amount of money from kidnapping activities, including N600,000 in the last operation before his arrest.

He said, “I joined through one of my friends. He is dead now. What we do is kidnap people for money. The people I was accused of killing were based on the instructions of my boss. My boss is dead now. I have made a lot of money from kidnapping people. In the last operation before we were caught, I made over N600,000.”

When asked what he used the money for, he responded, “I used my money to drink and carry women. I used it to womanize and drink.”