By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna.
Another multi millionaire kidnapped kingpin has been arrested by the Police in Niger State whose activities have caused nightmare to even the Police.
He is a 63 year old Isah Saidu,, an indigene of Paiko in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State who confessed to have been in the ‘business since 1990 and had made quite a huge fortune from the ramson collected from victims and families of those captured by his criminal gang.
Isah Sa’idu told the Police that while he held sway as a kidnap kingpin, he was the Chairman of the band of criminal kidnappers whose daring activities could only be imagined.
He said on one operation, he collected N300 million. In another one he collected about N250 million, while in another operation, he got N150 million from his hapless victims.
The crime kingpin however said that he had about three years ago, stopped kidnapping for ransom and switched over to illegal car business where he specialized in receiving stolen vehicles from his accomplices including car Jackers, armed robbers and international syndicate groups.
The latest gang of criminals were routed by the Police from the office of the Inspector General of Police during a sting operation in parts of Niger state.
The office of the Inspector General of Police had earlier launched a massive counter offensives against men of the criminal world who have hitherto held sway in different parts of his home state daring the Police to size them up.
The counter crime offensive is tagged ”Operation Absolute Sanity” which has been sweeping through and bursting open the nests of men of the underworld in parts of the state in recent past.
Last Wednesday, 48 dare devil men including kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers, car snatchers, receivers of stolen goods and other criminal elements were paraded by the Police as gains of it’s recent harvest recorded by the special tactical squad which is on Operation Absolute Sanity to rid the state of men of the underworld.
As evidence of the great hawl, several dangerous weapons including assault rifles of different calibrations and sizes, short guns including locally made pistols, guns cut to size and a huge catche of arms and ammunitions also of various callibrations, knives and swords plus assorted charms and amulets, drugs and other psychotropic substances hauled by the Police teams during their sting operations in the dens of the criminals in parts of the state.
Similarly, a 63 year old notorious car snatcher, Isa Sa’idu but popularly known as Maiturare, an indigene of Paiko, a self acclaimed repentant kidnapper along with his accomplice, son in crime were nabbed during one of the operations in Paiko town of the state.
The suspects were paraded at Bosso Division of the Nigerian Police by the Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Police, Chief Supritendent of Police, Jimoh Moshood said following the successes of the operation absolute sanity in few of the places where it has been implemented, the IGP has given directives to extend the counter offensive to other parts of the country with notorious dark spots.
The Force Public Relations Officer who arrived Minna for the parade of the criminals at Bosso Division, said the special Police Squad from the office of the Inspector General of Police would continue to take the battle to the hideouts of criminals in all parts of the country.
Some of the items recovered from the 45 criminals included 35 different types of stolen vehicles, five AK 47 Rifles, 3 Pump Action Guns, three Revolver Riffles, two Single Barrel Guns, three SMG Guns, two short guns, two locally made pistols, 462 live ammunitions of different calibrations and some home/electronic appliances.
Also mopped up from the suspects were vehicle key fabricating machines, devices for demobilising vehicle trackers kits, weapons making machines and tools, fake currency making machines among dangerous items.
In an interview, Isah Sa’idu claimed that he had stopped kidnapping following series of troubles he encountered while in the act. He said he was arrested for receiving stolen vehicles which have been his newest trade in stock but not as an armed robber or kidnapper.
