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| The suspects |
Ex- Chief of Defense Staff, Air Vice Marshal, Alex Badeh, (rtd)
may have been buried, but operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Special
Intelligence Response team (IRT), who have been investigating the circumstances
surrounding his death, have resolutely refused to close the case file.
The relentlessness of the policemen paid off; four more suspects
had been arrested in connection with the death of Badeh.
These suspects, since their arrest, had been singing like birds,
detailing roles each of them played in the operation.
The latest additions are; Yahaya, Alhaji Maube, Aliyu Usman, aka
Ciroma and Ibrahim Abdulahi. The first person arrested was Shuiabu Rabo. The
total number of suspects in IRT’s custody is five.
Although Rabo has been accused by the police of pulling the trigger
that killed Badeh, he has refused to accept it, insisting that he and two others
opened fire simultaneously on Badeh’s convoy. He explained that it was difficult
to know whose bullets actually killed the ex-chief of defense staff.
The confessions of how three of the
suspects opened fire on Badeh is even doubtful. Judging from their confessions,
there was absolutely no reason to open fire. This manner of operation contradicts
modus operandi of professional robbers. Most robbers usually flag down vehicles
to rob occupants. They don’t jump into the road to open fire on target vehicles
without any provocation.
Ciroma (35), who assembled the gang of
robbers that went for the operation, said that he was contacted by Maube.
Ciroma said: “I don’t know who fired the
shot that killed the man. Three persons
fired at the same time. But after the shooting, I went to the victim’s car,
opened it and found money. I gave the money to Ibrahim Abdulahi and asked him
to give it to Maube. It was the following
day that we got to know that the man we killed was a four star general. I don’t
know how much was in the bag; but we handed the bag and its content to Maube.”
Badeh may not have known it, but his journey to the grave started
after Maube found out that he was about to pay for a farmland. It was alleged
that Maube was the middleman, who linked Badeh to the owner of the farm.
On the day Badeh was to pay for the farmland, Maube and gang
surprised him and his convoy. Badeh was killed along Keffi- Kaduna, Expressway.
Two months into his
murder, police authorities said Badeh was killed with a Dane gun. The police
said that Maube is not just an informant to the gang of robbers, but also the
mastermind of the entire operation.
IRT operatives had on
December, 23, 2018, through a tip-off, arrested the first suspect, Rabo. Rabo
was alleged to have fired the shot that killed Badeh. Rabo, while fielding
questions from the operatives, confessed that Ciroma invited him and his
brother Yahaya for the operation.
Rabo further explained
that Ciroma, who brought three of the guns used in the operation, including the
Dane gun used in killing Badeh, didn’t tell him that their target was a former
CDS.
Rabo said: “Ciroma told me
that the target was coming to Panda area of Nassarawa State with a huge amount
of money. He said that the target intended to buy a farmland within that area.”
After Badeh was killed,
one of his friends, Joseph was kidnapped. IRT operatives, led by Deputy
Commissioner of Police (ACP), Abba Kyari, were deployed to Nassarawa State to
investigate the circumstances surrounding the abduction and murder. Joseph was
later released by his abductors. It was during that initial investigation that
Rabo was arrested. He was arrested through information given by some Fulani
businessmen.
Rabo was later used as
bait to catch Ciroma, Maube, Yahaya and Abdulahi.
A police source said: “After
the arrest of the four additional suspects, it was discovered that Maube was
the middle-man between Badeh and the owner of the farmland. Maube contracted
Ciroma for the operation. Maube brought two AK-47 rifles; Ciroman brought three
rifles, including the Dane gun. Ciroma gave the Dane gun to Shuiabu. When
Badeh’s corpse was examined, pellets from the Dane gun were extracted from his
body.”
Recalling how he
organised the operation, Ciroma said: “One day, I went to meet Maube. He lives
at Kare, close to Panda area of Nasarawa State. He told me that there
was a rich man, who owns a farm in his area. He said that he needed some
boys that would rob the man.”
Ciroma continued: “I
contacted Shuiabu, who I had earlier met in Gitata Market. I told him about
the plan and he responded that he was interested. Shuiabu brought in his
brother, Yahaya. I collected their phone numbers. Three days later, Maube
called; he said that the rich man was in his farm, that I should alert my boys.
I stopped at Bade area of Kaduna State, from where I called Shuiabu. I told him
that rich man was on ground. Shuiabu brought two persons, Yahaya and
Baso. They came to meet me at Gitata. When Maube called me again, it was
to tell me that the rich man had left his farm and was driving through Panda
Road.
“Maube called a cyclist,
Abdulahi and asked him to tail the rich man’s car. I and six others waited for
the target at Zomgo area of the state. Abdulahi brought two guns to us. He
pointed to the vehicle; we came outside and waylaid it. We used four Ak-47
rifles in that operation. I brought two Ak-47 rifles and a single barrel Dane gun.
I got one of the Ak-47 rifles from a friend, Rontumi and Rugumi. The Dane
gun belonged to me. We entered the road and blocked the rich man’s convoy.”
Ciroma, who is married
to two wives and blessed with eight children, related how he was arrested. His
words: “I’m a taxi driver. I used to ply Kaduna Keffi Expressway. I make N4000
daily. I reside in Gajio. On 24 December 2018, around 5: pm, I was at
Panda Market, waiting for passengers, when a bus blocked me; policemen
jumped out and dragged me into the bus. I saw Shuiabu inside the bus. I
was handcuffed and taken to Keffi Area Command in Nasarawa State. I was
asked if I was part of the gang that blocked, killed and robbed Badeh, I said
no. When I was moved to Abuja, I had no option than to confess.”
Abdulahi, 26, said
that he had no knowledge that Maube was planning a robbery operation when he
called him to take on his motorcycle to Gitata in December. Abdulahi,
a farmer, said that he does commercial cycling to make extra money.
He recalled that Maube
called him on a Tuesday in December. Maube asked Abdulahi to take him to Panda
area of Nasarawa. Abdulahi narrated: “When
we got to his shop, he asked me to stop. He went into his shop and brought a
bag. I don’t know what was in the bag. He asked me to take the bag to
Gitata and hand it over to Ciroma. I went there and stopped at Buritai’s
farm; Ciroma and Shuiabu came out to meet me. They collected the bag from him
after which they asked me to wait nearby. I went to the back of Buritai’s
farm and waited. Some minutes later, I heard gunshots. Ciroma called me to come
and collect the bag, which I brought earlier. He handed another bag to me; this
particular bag contained money. He asked me to give the bag to Muabe.”
Rabo, 25, said he
wasn’t aware that the bullets from his gun were what killed the victim. He
apparently was not happy that the police were trying to pin the killing on him,
when they were actually three of them that opened fire on Badeh’s convoy at the
same time.
He said: “I wasn’t the
only person that shot at the General’s convoy during the attack. What happened
was that before last year’s Christmas, I went to market, where I met
Ciroma. He told me that there was a rich man, who has a farm in Panda.
He said that the man was coming to buy another farm within the area. He wanted
us to rob the rich man when he comes to pay for the farmland.
“That was on a Friday; Ciroma
told me that the man was coming on a Tuesday to pay for the land. On that
Tuesday, I went to my own farm and told my friends and Yahaya about the
operation. We called Ciroma to know if the job was still on; he asked us to
come. When we met Ciroma, he gave me a Dane gun. But I saw five guns with him. He gave them to the other people with
us. When the operation started, Yahaya was on my right, with a stick and
I was in the front. But Ciroma and the other guys were ahead of us. When
the vehicle carrying the man and the money came, those in front started
shooting. At that point, I couldn’t tell who killed the man. When we got to the
vehicle, Ciroma brought out a bag from the vehicle. He gave me N25, 000 and promised
to call me when the money was ripe for sharing. I didn’t know that the rich man
was killed by bullets from my Dane gun I used in the operation.”
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