From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Nigerian Police on Thursday paraded the alleged mastermind of the March 28, 20,22 Kaduna-Abuja train attack alongside 276 other suspected criminals.
The Force Public Relations Officer ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi during the parade said the arrest of the mastermind followed painstaking efforts by the Police to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book.
He, however, decried the unfettered foray of Nigerian youth in their 20s into crime and the misuse and abuse of drugs by youths and adults, noting that the use of drugs contributed to over 80% of crimes perpetrated by youths in the country.
Speaking on the achievements of the Kaduna State Police command since January 2024, the Force PRO said they include the arrest of the alleged mastermind of the Kaduna-Abuja train attack, Ibrahim Abdullahi aka Mande, who was arrested in Rido. Also arrested in a separate operation was one of his alleged accomplices in the train attack, Auwal Ayuba.
Ayuba admitted to being involved in the attack on the train under the directive of Mande, noting that after kidnapping the train passengers, they were later sold to the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP). But the suspected gang leader, Abdullahi refuted the allegation, noting that he wasn’t involved and he was not the leader of the gang that planned and attacked the train. He equally disclaimed Ayuba, saying that he had never met him before.
The Force PRO added that the Kaduna Police also arrested Yakubu Saidu, the mastermind and leader of the notorious kidnapping gang that attacked St. Raphael Catholic Church, Fadan Kamanta, Zonkwa, where they set ablaze the Priest’s house leading to the death of Stephen Naaman in the fire, while property worth millions of naira, including a Honda vehicle and a motorcycle, were consumed by the fire.
According to Adejobi, “On 12th January 2024, police operatives attached to an anti-kidnapping unit of Kaduna State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), based on credible information swooped in and arrested one Ibrahim Abdullahi aka MANDE at Abuja-Kaduna Road flyover by Rido Junction. The suspect confessed to being the leader of a kidnapping syndicate terrorizing the Kaduna-Abuja highway, ranked among other criminals like Dogo Gide and Bello Turji.
“He had participated in various kidnapping incidents including the kidnapping incident at Greenfield University and he partook in almost all the kidnappings along the Abuja-Kaduna highway. On 27th April 2024, some vigilante members arrested and brought to the station one Auwal Ayuba aged 27, a resident of Kubacha Town suspected of being a kidnapper. After a thorough investigation, the suspect confessed to being a member of a kidnapping gang and has participated in several kidnappings in the Kubacha, Jere, and Katari axes where many victims were kidnapped.
“On February 29, 2024, vigilant operatives of the Kaduna Command Monitoring Unit conducted a well-coordinated operation at the residence of a suspected kidnapper, one Adamu Abdulwahab, in Ganga Uku Village, Mararaban Jos, which resulted in the apprehension of the suspect and recovery of crucial exhibits, including 1 fabricated cartridge revolver rifle, 1 fabricated pistol, 2 Dane guns, 6 live cartridges, 1 discharged GPRG ammunition, 7 discharged cartridges, 2 SIM cards, 2 Tecno handsets, and 1 bloodstained cutlass.”
