I killed 50 kidnap victims who didn’t pay ransom, says suspect

A kidnap suspect, Mohammed Sani, 30, on Wednesday said he killed more than 50 of his victims because they could not pay ransom.

Force spokesman DCP Frank Mba paraded Sani alongside 46 other suspects at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Headquarters, Abuja.

Sani said he carried out his operations mainly in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger and Zamfara states.

Sani, clad in a fake military uniform, said he worked for one Yellow Jambros, who allegedly gave him guns and military uniforms, adding that he was a sector commander in their kidnapping ring and had over 120 men under him.

The suspect said abductees who paid ransom were allowed to go, but those who could not were killed.

Mba said the suspect was apprehended by men of the Special Tactical Squad (STS) after being on their wanted list.

“His area of specialty is kidnapping for ransom and banditry. Occasionally he veers into cattle rustling. He belongs to an organised kidnapping gang that has gone ahead to sectorise their operations. Mohammed Sani is a sector commander within the larger kidnapping and banditry enterprise. He has over 100 men directly under his command. Sani reports to another big kidnapper that is on our wanted list known as Yellow Jambros,” Mba said.

Also paraded were seven suspects directly linked to the deadly attack on a bullion van in Abakiliki, Ebonyi State on July 29, 2020.

Mba said two of them were dismissed soldiers, adding that the men planned the attack for over two weeks before carrying it out.

Four policemen were killed in the attack, their rifles taken away from them, though the hoodlums were prevented from taking control of the bullion van.

Mba said men of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and other detectives later carried out a manhunt for the suspects across several states of the federation on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

“The gang leader is Sunday Seyemi from Bayelsa State. Arms recovered from them include one GPMG rifle with 136 rounds of ammunition, six AK47 rifles, 61 AK47 magazines, five K2 magazines, 1,620 rounds of live AK47 ammunition, two sets of army camouflage and assorted charms and other house breaking-implements.”

Two suspects remain at large, Mba said.