A 12-year-old teenage boy, Dayyabu Abdullahi, an indigene of Kano State but residing in Magama-Gumau village, Toro Local Government Area (LGA) of Bauchi State has been arrested by the State Police Command for alleged kidnapping of another minor, a three-year-old girl.
According to information from the Bauchi State Police Command, on November 23, 2022 at about 1740hrs, one Yahaya Sale, aged 56 years of Magama-Gumau while at his shop located at the same address, received a threatening phone call from an anonymous person.
The caller was said to have demanded for the sum of N150,000 as a ransom for the release of his kidnapped daughter, one Mariya Yahaya, aged three years of same address.
Bauchi State Police Command Spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Ahmed Wakili, said in a release on Saturday that a discreet Investigation revealed that the suspect lured the victim to an isolated place near a football field at Kara Area of Magama Gumau and called the victim’s father on phone and demanded for the N150,000 ransom.
According to him, “on hearing this, the victim’s father hung off the call. The suspect kept calling but no response from the victim’s father. But after a while, the victim’s father called the suspect on phone and identified the suspect as Dayyabu through his voice, as the suspect is known by the victim’s father.
“The suspect then kept mute and quickly hung off the call when he realized that the victim’s father had uncovered his identity.
“Consequently, he swiftly took the girl back to their house and told her family that he sighted her crying near a football field. In this manner, the victim’s family immediately reported the suspect to the Police authority for necessary action.
“On interrogation, the suspect stated that he is from Kano State and came to Bauchi State in search of petty business with his siblings while from the little he earned while hawking a fried yam in Magama Gumau, he raised money and bought a mobile phone Techno Camon model.
“The investigation also revealed that the suspect got to know about kidnapping when some time ago his friend was kidnapped in Kano State until a ransom was paid before he was released from his captors. That is how he learned about kidnapping and money must be paid to set a victim free.
“He also said he would have used the ransom money to buy his desired clothes and phones, but cut short upon his arrest by the Police operatives.
“To this end, the Commissioner of Police CP Aminu Alhassan, assured the general public that they will continue to be updated as the investigation unfolds. He adds that he will like to use this medium to reiterate the need for parents and guardians to maintain strict vigilance over the activities of their wards.
“The Commissioner stressed that It is pertinent now more than ever that the whereabouts of wards and the company they keep are constantly kept in check by all those responsible, as the investigation continues into the matter after which the suspect will be charged to court.
“He stressed that Criminal liability has two major things: ‘Actus Reus’, and ‘Men’s Rea,’.and reiterated that the Command will not pre-empt investigations yet, despite violating human rights and the dignity of the girl child.”
