Vigilantes, hunters arrest 2 suspected kidnappers, informant in Bauchi

Two suspected kidnappers and an informant terrorising communities in Ningi local government area of Bauchi State have been arrested by members of local vigilantes and hunters in the state.

The suspected kidnappers are Salau and Yellow who were brought before the Emir of Ningi, Haruna Yunusa Danyaya in his palace in Ningi by the leadership of the vigilantes and hunters on Thursday.

In his remark, the leader of the vigilantes said that it took the group diligent tracing and closed monitoring before they were able to track and arrested the suspects.

According to him, the suspects had recently operated around Balma and Burra communities where they kidnapped some people and collected ransom.

He told the Emir that the suspects had really tormented residents of the area in the last three years, kidnapping, taking ransom and in a few cases, killing some of their victims.

One of the suspects, popularly called Yellow admitted that he and others have engaged in kidnapping and taking ransom before releasing them.

He said the group had received at least N60 million from their many victims before they were released, adding that they operate in syndicate with informants giving them vital information about the victims before they struck.

The Secretary of the Ningi Emirate Council, Usman Suleh Magayaki confirmed the arrest of the suspects and their appearance before the Emir.

He said: “These criminals have given us a bad name with their activities in the last three years or so. They have kidnapped many innocent people and forced their families to pay huge sums as ransom before the victims were released.

“As you can see, Allah has helped us, these volunteers, vigilantes and hunters risked their lives to comb the forests and got them arrested. We are indeed grateful to them.”

When contacted for official confirmation of the development, spokesman for the state police command, Ahmed Wakili, said he saw yet to get report from the area but promised to brief journalists when the information is available.

By: Yemi Kanji

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