Juliana Francis
A 36-year-old man, Abubakar Haliru, has revealed in chilling details how he hired some assassins to abduct and kill his cousin, Binta Abusafyan, in order to avoid paying N1.4million he owed her.
The suspect, since his arrest by Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and Intelligence Response Team (IRT), has been singing like a bird.
According to him, he had lured Abusafyan to a particular spot and then made sure that she was kidnapped by a gang of kidnappers. He had already given them information about Abusafyan, how to kill her and then disposed of her car. To make the abduction to appear real and douse suspicion, Haliru told the kidnappers to also kidnap him.
But as fate would have it, Abusafyan was able to escape from the kidnappers’ den. However, she fell into the hands of another gang of kidnappers.
When the initial gang that kidnapped saw her with the second gang, they attempted to reclaim, leading to gunfight between the two factions. After smoke from smoking guns has cleared, 11 bodies, from both factions were on the ground. While the shooting was going on, Abusafyan escaped.
Haliru was presented to journalists by the Force Spokesperson, a Commissioner of Police (CP), Frank Mba.
According to Mba, it was a case of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping. He explained that on August 15, 2021, at about 5:00 p.m., based on intelligence led information, the team of FIB and IRT, Rigachikun units on operation Puff-Adder II, with the aid of the Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), succeeded in arresting Haliru, who conspired with Nuhu Ibrahim and Rashidu Muntari, to kidnap Binta Abusafyan, who he owed N1.4million. During interrogation, Haliru confessed to have told the victim to escort to collect money from his friend, so that he could repay her, but he instead handed her over to the kidnappers.”
Explaining how he and the victim are related, Haliru said his father and Abusafyan’s mom were related.
Haliru, a tricycle rider, further said: “I took Binta to bandits in Galadimawa area of Kaduna State, so that they could kidnap her. She had no idea what I had planned for her. She bought tricycles and gave to me on hire purchase. The total amount was N3.9million, but I had only paid N2.5million, to balance N1.4million. I was supposed to have finished payment in December 2020.”
According to the suspect, when Abusafyan called to ask for her money, he told that he would get the money from his friend, in order to offset the debt. When Haliru was with Abusafyan, he made a call, pretending to be speaking with the friend he wanted to borrow the money from. After ending the call, he told Abusafyan that she needed to go with him to his friend’s, so that he could collect the money and handover to her.
The woman, said to be in her forties, didn’t know she was walking into a trap.
Haliru recounted: “I convinced her to accompany me to escort to collect the money from my friend, but I instead I lured her the hold of bandits in Galadimawa. I had earlier discussed with the kidnappers. The kidnappers kidnapped both of us and took us into the bush. I spent five days in the kidnappers’ den, but while at the camp, I heard Binta escaped from the gang. I also heard that she was kidnapped by another gang in the same forest.”
Haliru revealed that inside the forest, there were over 50 different groups kidnap gang. They also have huts in the forest, where they keep their victims. He also said that just like his cousin, he also fell into the hands of another gang while leaving the forest.
The kidnappers forced him to call his family members, who went on to look for ways to raise money for ransom. He said that on the day his family was supposed to pay ransom for his release, he managed to escape from the kidnappers.
He said: “As I was escaping, I ran into a farmer, whom I begged to assist me with his phone to contact my people. I called my family and told them not to pay the ransom that I had escaped. I told them to meet me at Iredachi Junction. It was there that one of my brothers came to pick me and then handed me over to Operatives of IRT.”
Asked how police discovered that Haliru was complicit in the abduction of Abusafyan, Mba replied: “During investigation and debriefing of Haliru, our men found the key of Abusafyan’s car in his possession. He had collected everything in the lady’s car. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.”
Haliru said: “I was the one that drove Binta in her car to the place. After we were ‘kidnapped,’ I told the kidnappers to take the car to the road so that people would see it, and make it look as if we were indeed kidnapped. My plan was that when they collect ransom for her release, I would be given my own share. I told them to collect N100 million as ransom. Binta is a businesswoman and also, my plan was that they should kill her so that I will not repay the money.”
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