Why I kidnapped my nephew, a mother of 11, confesses

By Ben Ekezie

Operatives of the anti-kidnapping section of the Kano State Police Command have arrested a mother of 11, Zainab Rabiu, who abducted his nephew and demanded a N20 million ransom. She was alleged to have detained him for 28 days until the family eventually paid the sum of N5.1 million.

Parading her before journalists, the State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Usani Gumel, stated that he mobilized operatives as soon as he received a report from a resident of Kofar Ruwa Quarters, Dala LGA, Kano State, that his son, Al Mustapha Bashir, was kidnapped and a ransom of twenty million naira (N20,000,000:00) was demanded. “He was able to negotiate, and five million, one hundred and fifty thousand naira (N5,150,000:00) was paid.

“In the course of the investigation, the boy was rescued, and four suspects were arrested.

“The suspects include 45-year-old Zainab Rabiu, who lives at Gwammaja Quarters, the mastermind, and an aunt to the victim. The others are Abdurrashid Sa’idu, Hassan Abdullahi, and Ahmed Saleh. Suspects confessed to the crime and will be charged in court upon completion of the investigation,” CP Gumel stated.

On how they were arrested, police sources said that Zainab’s involvement was discovered through intelligence gathering. She led the police to nab the others while some of the suspects were still on the run.

Confessing her involvement, Zainab told the police that she is heavily in debt and that all efforts to get her brother to pay the debt failed. She decided to contract professional kidnappers to help her get the money from her brother.

On the agreed date, she lured the boy out of the house and handed him over to the kidnappers. They took him to their hideout in Zamfara, where they kept him for 28 days till his father paid the sum of N5.1 million.

To distract the investigator, she was said to have regularly visited her brother to condole with them and pray for the return of their son. She also used the opportunity to find out when N150,000 was initially paid.

According to Zainab, she was only given N5,000 and was promised N1 million as soon as more money was paid. She also confessed to having cooked food several times and sent it to the boy since it was a fasting period.

In a related development, the command also received a report from a resident of Wailari Quarters, Kumbotso LGA, Kano State, who stated that his 14-year-old daughter, Halima Shehu, was abducted by one Abdulmalik Auwal, who is 19.

The suspect was later arrested at Kenimi Quarters, Kumbotso LGA, Kano State, where he kept her for two days. The suspect told the police that they were in love and decided to elope.

Also, one Kabiru Shehu of Sharada Quarters, Kano Municipal LGA, reported that his 6-year-old daughter, Hafsat Kabiru, was missing and that unknown persons called him through his mobile phone, demanding the sum of three million naira (N3,000,000:00k) as ransom.

In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the girl was kidnapped by her mother, who wanted to extort money from her father.