A man, identified as Zakariyya Muhammad, has been arrested for kidnapping an 18-month-old baby in Kano State, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed by the Police Command’s spokesman, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, in a statement on Tuesday.
He noted that the 22-year-old suspect was arrested, 16 hours after the kidnap, on Thursday, following a report from a resident who claimed that the father of the victim informed him of the incident.
He also disclosed that the suspect had demanded a N2 million ransom for her release.
“On 04/07/2024 at about 4 pm, a report was received from a resident of Sabuwar Gandu Kwarin Barka Quarters, Kano that he received a phone call from an unknown person, who claimed to have kidnapped his 2½-year-old daughter, Amina, and demanded N2 million ransom for her release.”.
“On receipt of the report, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State Command, CP Salman Dogo Garba mobilised a team of Anti-kidnapping Squad, led by SP Aliyu Muhammad Auwal, with a directive to rescue the victim within 24 hours to ensure the arrest of the suspect.”
“Consequently, the squad swung into action and with sustained efforts, coupled with intelligence-led technical operations, it led to the arrest of the suspect, Zakariyya Muhammad, ‘m’, aged 22 years old, Sabuwar Gandu Kwarin Barka Quarters, Kano on 05/07/2024 by 8 am, i.e. 16 hours after the kidnap incident,” the statement reads.
Kiyawa further noted that Muhammad, who is a neighbour to the victim, confessed to having singlehandedly committed the offence and led the detectives to where he held the victim hostage.
“Subsequently, the victim was rescued unhurt in an isolated area in their neighbourhood and rushed to the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, where she was examined, certified healthy, and discharged,” he added.
He assured the public that this despicable act would not be tolerated, promising that the Command will continue to leverage all its available assets to forestall all criminal activities and bring the perpetrators to justice.
