Police arrest man linked to The Guardian worker’s kidnap

IGP Talks Tough As Police Arrest Two Suspects Via ICT In Taraba

The police in Niger State have arrested a suspect in connection with the kidnap of The Guardian Newspapers’ employee, Ajibade Alagbe.
Confirming the arrest, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, said 48-year-old Sani Abdullahi, the victim’s neighbors, was arrested in connection to the case.

Alagbe was abducted in the early hours of Wednesday from his home along Kaduna–Abuja road, Tafa Local Council of Niger. The kidnappers had demanded N5 million ransom.

However, a combined team of police, military and vigilante operatives successfully rescued him, while his abductors fled. The police spokesperson said the suspect would be transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, after preliminary investigation.

Family members of the victim have alleged plot by some “powerful forces” to secure the release of the suspect.

The victim’s eldest son, Seun, who spoke when The Guardian visited the family house, said the police had arrested the alleged mastermind of the crime, Abdullahi, who he described as a notorious criminal.

He alleged that the suspect, whose house is just a stone’s throw from theirs, provided the kidnappers with all information they needed for the operation

He said: “After my father was abducted, youths and vigilantes in the community started trailing the kidnappers into the forest. While on that, the community suspected that someone was still giving the kidnappers information about the rescue mission and they asked everyone to submit their phones.”

But the suspect refused to submit his, and we later collected it from him forcefully.

“After my dad was rescued, it was discovered that the suspect had been communicating with the kidnappers. He was almost lynched by the youths, but the police came and took him away.”

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, has charged his men to deploy native intelligence, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven approaches to combat criminality that seems to defy traditional patterns of policing.

The IGP made this call as operatives of the Force Intelligence Bureau–Special Tactical Squad/Tactical Intelligence Unit (FIB-STS/TIU), acting on actionable intelligence, successfully intercepted two suspects in connection with armed robbery, kidnapping, illegal possession of prohibited firearms and criminal conspiracy, on May 29, 2022 in Taraba State.

He emphasised that engaging the citizens actively at the communal level is a key to major crime-busting successes recorded in recent times.

Usman equally emphasised the importance of strategically deploying technological assets such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), upgraded road-to-base operational vehicles installed with high-tech communication and reporting features, and technical intelligence apparatus.