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| Hamisu Bala Wadume. Photo: Nigeria Police |
A notorious kidnap suspect Hamisu Bala Wandume has indicted the Nigerian Army in his confession statement at the Police Headquarters in Abuja.
Wadume claimed that the troops helped him escape when he was earlier arrested by the police on August 6.
“I’m Hamisu Bala aka Wadume, police came to Ibbi and arrested me,” Wadume said in a confessional video. “On our way, soldiers followed us and opened fire on them. As a result some policemen were killed.”
“Soldiers took me to their headquarter and removed the cuffs. I escaped and was in hiding until they rearrested me again,” he added.
Wadume’s claims reiterates the claims by the police authorities. In its account of the incident, police said the army had freed Wadume intentionally. It insisted that the Nigerian Army had questions.
The police had earlier arrested Wadume on August 6 in Taraba State but he escaped following a face-off between the police and army along Ibi – Jalingo Road, Taraba State.
In its account, the army authorities said the soldiers attacked the police in response to a distress call from members of the community to rescue a kidnapped victim and that the police refused to stop at three consecutive times at army checkpoints and failed to identify themselves as police, hence, prompting the army to suspect them as the kidnappers.
Three policemen, including one inspector and two sergeants and one civilian, died during the attack while others sustained serious gunshot wounds.
“The soldiers thereafter released the handcuffed suspect, Alhaji Hamisu, who is now on the run,” police alleged. It insisted that the Nigerian Army had questions to answer.
The attack sparked tension between the two security agencies forcing the army warned its men to be “circumspect” in their dealings with members of the Nigerian police.
President Muhammadu Buhari waded into the matter and constituted a panel to look into it.
The presidential investigation panel was initially scheduled to conclude its findings last week, but the team sought an additional two weeks to wrap up its investigations.
The police in its Tuesday statement said the re-arrest will “help in bringing answers to the numerous but hitherto unanswered questions touching on the incident.”
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Wadume claimed that the troops helped him escape when he was earlier arrested by the police on August 6.
“I’m Hamisu Bala aka Wadume, police came to Ibbi and arrested me,” Wadume said in a confessional video. “On our way, soldiers followed us and opened fire on them. As a result some policemen were killed.”
“Soldiers took me to their headquarter and removed the cuffs. I escaped and was in hiding until they rearrested me again,” he added.
Wadume’s claims reiterates the claims by the police authorities. In its account of the incident, police said the army had freed Wadume intentionally. It insisted that the Nigerian Army had questions.
The police had earlier arrested Wadume on August 6 in Taraba State but he escaped following a face-off between the police and army along Ibi – Jalingo Road, Taraba State.
In its account, the army authorities said the soldiers attacked the police in response to a distress call from members of the community to rescue a kidnapped victim and that the police refused to stop at three consecutive times at army checkpoints and failed to identify themselves as police, hence, prompting the army to suspect them as the kidnappers.
Three policemen, including one inspector and two sergeants and one civilian, died during the attack while others sustained serious gunshot wounds.
“The soldiers thereafter released the handcuffed suspect, Alhaji Hamisu, who is now on the run,” police alleged. It insisted that the Nigerian Army had questions to answer.
The attack sparked tension between the two security agencies forcing the army warned its men to be “circumspect” in their dealings with members of the Nigerian police.
President Muhammadu Buhari waded into the matter and constituted a panel to look into it.
The presidential investigation panel was initially scheduled to conclude its findings last week, but the team sought an additional two weeks to wrap up its investigations.
The police in its Tuesday statement said the re-arrest will “help in bringing answers to the numerous but hitherto unanswered questions touching on the incident.”
In this article: