Operatives of the Nigeria Police have arrested three suspected killers of a Catholic seminarian, Nnadi Michael of the Catholic Good Shepherd Major Seminary at Gonin Gora, Kakau, in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
The suspects are Tukur Usman (37), Shehu Bello (40) and Mustapha Mohammed (30).
The seminarian was killed after some gunmen invaded the Catholic Seminary and kidnapped four seminarians on January 9, 2020. The gang later released the remaining three while the remains of the deceased were found in a bush.
In a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Amba, the arrest of the suspects who were members of a notorious gang was made after intensive efforts by detectives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
The statement said, ”The suspects: Tukur Usman ‘m’ aged 37, father of 7, Shehu Bello ‘m’ aged 40, father of 5 and Mustapha Mohammed ‘m’ aged 30, father of 1, all of Igabi LGA of Kaduna State were arrested after several months of intensive and extensive intelligence-led operations by crack detectives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
”Discreet investigations so far reveal that the arrested suspects are part of a 19-man gang that also carried out the kidnap of Dr Phillip Ataga’s wife and two daughters on January 24, 2020 at Juji Community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State. Mrs Ataga was killed by the gang following her heroic resistance to the despicable and inhuman attempt by the leader of the gang to rape her. The suspects after killing her released the daughters and corpse of the slain woman to the family after collecting ransom.
”Further investigations reveal that the same criminal gang is responsible for the kidnap of six students and two teachers of Engravers College, Chikun LGA, Kaduna, from their school premises on October 3, 2019.
”The suspects, known to belong to a hybrid terrorist criminal network causing untold havoc in North-Central, Nigeria, have confessed to several other random operations along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway where they kidnapped, killed and robbed motorists, collecting ransom and valuables running into millions of naira.
Mba assured the general public that the remaining members of the gang would be arrested as ” the Force will not rest until the other members of the gang also responsible for the above crimes, but currently on the run, are apprehended and brought to book”.