The Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday said it had arrested five suspects in connection with the kidnapping of Gov. Yahaya Bello’s Mother in May 2014.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hajia Hawawu Bello, 80, mother of Gov. Bello, the then Managing Director of Fair Plus Transport Services, was kidnapped in Uvete, Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi, on May 29 2014.

The suspects are: Iliyasu Suleiman, 44, former Councillor and gang leader, Danjuma Ibrahim, 26, Iliyasu Obadaki, 35, Alhaji Nasiru, 43, and Hafiz Yakubu. The Force Spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.

Moshood said that items recovered from the suspects include: two AK 47 rifles; 20 live cartridges; one army camouflage inner wear; two army camouflage pair of trousers and two army camouflage caps.

Others are; one black Beretta; two plastic guns; three sharp knives and one axe. He said that all the suspects had confessed to the kidnapping of the governor’s mother and other robberies in FCT, Kogi and Niger.

The Force spokesman said that efforts were being intensified to arrest other fleeing members of the gang while the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

He enjoined members of the public to cooperate with the Police to prevent crime and criminality in their localities. In a related development, Moshood said the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, had deployed a joint police team to the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

He said the team comprised Special Police force, Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Squad, the Force Intelligence Team with its headquarters at Rijanah, Kaduna State.

He said that the team was under specific mandate to root out the kidnap for ransom gangs and armed robbery gangs terrorising the route.

Moshood said that the operation was to compliment and augment the ongoing Jont Police/Military operations on ground before now. “The police personnel will be proactive and work on actionable intelligence at the disposal of the force and carry out massive deployment,” he said.

He said that Idris urged members of the public, especially commuters and people in towns and villages along the road to assist and cooperate with the police. NAN reports that the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operation, Mr Hyacinth Dagala, has been mandated to supervise the operation. (NAN)

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