By Seun Adams
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), on Wednesday asked the military of the where-about of the notorious kidnapper, Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume,
who allegedly escaped as a result of the killings of its 3 operatives and one civilian by the soldiers on Tuesday in Jalingo, Taraba State.
According to the statement made available by the NPF, to the media on Thursday, it said the claim by the Nigerian Army on Wednesday, seeking to justify the unprovoked and unwarranted murder of 3 Police officers and 1 civilian, and serious injury to other operatives, who were on legitimate criminal investigation activities to Taraba State, to arrest Wadume indicted in a series of high-profile kidnap incidents in the State does not hold water.
Mr. Frank Mba, the Force PRO, said: “In the best tradition of esprit de corps, inter-agency harmony and national interest, the NPF would naturally have kept quiet, but it has become imperative to set the record straight by addressing the obvious distortion of facts inherent in the information pushed out by the army.”
Mba, said the question arising from the army press release is: Where is Wadume?, adding that Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the Police but paradoxically treated as a ‘‘kidnap victim’’ by the Soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?
Meanwhile, the Police has released the names of the 3 Police operatives killed by the army to include: Insp. Mark Ediale, from Edo State, Sgt. Usman Danzumi and Sgt. Dahiru Musa, from Taraba State.
While regretting the death of its men, Mba, said the gallant, outstanding IRT team attacked by Soldiers in Taraba State consists of some of the most disciplined, proficient and hardworking Police investigators in the service of the nation.
He said: “Until their untimely death in the hands of soldiers of 93 Battalion Takum, Taraba State, these officers have participated in several high profile and high risk arrests, rescue missions and investigative operations.
Some of these operations include: The arrest of Nigeria’s most notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans.
The arrest of twenty 22 Boko Haram Terrorists responsible for the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok School Girls in Borno State, the arrest of Umar Abdulmalik, the overall Boko Haram Commander of North Central Nigeria and several of his group members.
“The arrest of the kidnappers of two American and two Canadian citizens in Kaduna State. And most recently, the rescue of Magajin Garin Daura in Kano State and arrest of the thirteen (13) terrorists responsible for the kidnapping of the Magajin Garin Daura in his home town Daura, Katsina State on 1st May 2019, among many other outstanding feats.”
He said the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, commiserates with the families, friends and professional colleagues of the fallen heroes, reassuring them that their death will not be in vain.