Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Benue State Command, identified as Simon Agbo, at his residence in Makurdi, the state capital.
A close relation of the victim, who disclosed this to journalists on Monday in Makurdi, said the officer was whisked away on Sunday night at about 7:15pm while among his neighbours.
He said the incident happened opposite NKST church, Kuan, behind the Modern Market area of Makurdi, after the kidnappers stormed the compound and took him away at gunpoint to an unknown destination.
The relation said that as soon as the gunmen stormed the man’s residence, they fired gunshots sporadically in the air to scare family members and neighbours of the victim before abducting him.
It was further gathered that the victim was serving in Kwara State before he was redeployed to the Benue State command in February this year.
Upon hearing of his abduction, youths in the whole community, in collaboration with local vigilantes, immediately launched a search throughout the night, but the gunmen could not be found.
A younger brother of the victim, who simply identified himself as Agbo, told journalists that one of the victim’s neighbours had been apprehended in connection with the abduction of the Immigration officer.
He said, “The neighbour was consistently calling on the victim to come home or he should direct him to his location, as at that time, they needed to see him that fateful Sunday night, by all means.
“After persistent calls, that my brother should come home or, if possible, describe his whereabouts, my brother came home and went straight to his neighbour’s compound.
“While they were at the compound discussing, another of their neighbours came to join them, and all of a sudden, the gunmen arrived at the compound and immediately went straight to the Immigration officer, picking only him at gunpoint, leaving the remaining two people behind.
“The neighbour’s action looks very suspicious, and that is why we called for his arrest. He has been arrested and he is currently in police custody until our brother is released. As I speak with you, the kidnappers have opened the discussion with the family. They are demanding N20 million ransom for his release as of today,” he said.
Court releases body of slain Kwara student for burial
In a related development, a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday ordered the release of the remains of Hafsoh Lawal, the murdered final year female student of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, to her family for burial according to Islamic rites.
The granting of the order by Justice Hannah Ajayi, who was presiding over the trial of the murder case, followed the request by the family of the murdered student that the court grant an order to release the dismembered body of the deceased for proper burial according to Islamic rites.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Senior Sulyman, who is the prosecution team lead in the case against five suspected persons, prayed the court to release the body of the deceased to the family for proper burial.
Sulyman said, “I want to apply and pray the court to humbly order the release of the remains of Hafsoh Lawal who was murdered in cold blood by the defendants for proper burial as a Muslim so that her soul will have rest.”
The defence counsel, Chukwudi Maduka, who represented the first defendant, Abdulrahman Bello, raised no objections to the request, saying that “I sympathise with the family of the deceased who lost their beloved daughter. I don’t have any objection to the request made by the Honourable Attorney General despite the ongoing prosecution of the case.”
Justice Ajayi therefore ordered that the state police command release the dismembered body to her parents so that she will be buried according to Islamic rites.
Abdulrahman Bello and four others are standing trial on the charges of conspiracy and murder.
The other four defendants are Ahmed Abdulwasiu, Suleiman Muhydeen, Jamiu Uthman and AbdulRahman Jamiu.
They were alleged to have committed criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide and illegal possession of human parts while the first defendant, Bello was solely accused of raping the deceased.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, three more witnesses, including two police officers and an anatomic pathologist from the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dr. Olaleke Folaranmi, testified before the court.
Key police witnesses, including officers from the Police ‘C’ Division, Oja Oba, Ilorin and the State Criminal Investigation Department, testified that the prime suspect had orally confessed to the crime.
According to the officers, “the suspect, Abdulrahman Bello, led investigators to his apartment and later to a dumpsite at Olunlade area of Ilorin, the state capital to recover parts of the dismembered body of the deceased, Hafsoh Lawal.”
The police also said that the investigation led to the main dumpsite located near the Okolowo–Eyenkorin expressway, where parts of the body were allegedly recovered.
“Policemen were led to the dump site by Abdulrahman Bello to recover the human parts, but they had already been evacuated by the refuse disposal people to Okolowo-Eyenkorin expressway.
“The next day, we met with a scavenger who helped the police team to recover the parts. Abdulrahman later identified the human parts as that of the deceased”, an ASP of the state CID testified.
The prosecution team also played a video in court showing the discovery of Hafsoh’s dismembered body parts inside the apartment of the prime suspect, Bello.
The video, along with a certificate of compliance, was later admitted as evidence, despite objections from defence counsel who argued that it did not comply with the state’s criminal justice law.
Another officer, Sergeant Moses, told the court that the victim’s father had reported her missing on February 11, adding that Bello was arrested after phone records showed that he was the last person to contact her.
He said that he allegedly confessed and attempted to bribe the police officer while on the way to the police station.
“A search of his residence reportedly uncovered Hafsoh’s belongings, blood-stained weapons, charms, and buckets containing human body parts soaked in gin,” he revealed.