Justice Adenike Akinpelu of the State High Court, Ilorin has again adjourned the kidnapping case brought against Serikin Fulani of Kwara state, Adamu Usman, popularly called “Hardo” to February 1, for further hearing.
At the last court proceedings, an operative of the Department of State Security (DSS), Femi Babalola, testified against the Fulani chief, saying that Hardo, in a statement he volunteered at the DSS office Ilorin, confessed to having masterminded the abduction of Abubakar Ahmadu and further collected the sum of N1 million from the victim.
He said: “On August 10, 2022, the Director of DSS, being the Head of Investigation, called me to attend to a case of kidnap brought by one Abubakar Ahmadu’s family. He, therefore, directed me to expose the perpetrator behind the act and we took the statement of the family members. In their statements, they said their son (Abubakar Ahmadu) was in the custody of Hardo. Further on, my lord, according to them, Hardo told them to cough out the sum of N1m in ransom to release Abubakar and they sought the ransom. The same day, the money was brought to our office, where it was marked for proper identification before it was returned to the family for delivery to the alleged kidnappers.
“In line with our practice, the investigation team mounted surveillance on the family in possession of the ransom. The family, thereafter, took the money to one Giɗe Mohammed and the family were there till 9pm until they succeeded in giving the ransom to Giɗe Mohammed.
“Giɗe left the family in his own house and collected a bike on expressway along bush path where Abubakar was released to him. He then returned to the house where the victim’s family members were waiting for him and the victim was exchanged for the sum of N1m.
“Discreetly, we continued to mount surveillance on Giɗe Mohammed after collecting the ransom. The following morning, 11th August, 2022 when Abubakar came to our office and volunteered his statement on the incident. That day, Giɗe Mohammed was monitored as he approached a POS where he wanted to send the money to his beneficiary it was at that point he was invited to our office.
“In his statement, he confessed that the victim’s family brought the ransom to him and at the point he has about N300,000 on him. Alongside the N300,000, he brought out his phone containing the bank details of Hardo whom he said sent him to collect Abubakar (the victim) from some people. Giɗe further confessed that Hardo connived with some military personnel to kidnap Abubakar on the 21st July.
“Abubakar volunteered his own statement too. He said on the day, he was forced into a private vehicle belonging to one Ibrahim Sahun and he was blindfolded with his hands tied. He said he was taken to a detention facility under the instruction of Hardo where he was kept until 10th of August when he was released to his family. And this led to the invitation of alleged kidnapper, Hardo Usman Adamu on the 11th. Hardo to our office. In his statement, he confessed to have staged abduction of Abubakar, noting that the ransom was agreed upon at the instance of his brother Idrissa Adamu and the meeting was held inside Giɗe’s house.
“A technical analysis of Giɗe’s phone showed the account number of Usman Adamu to which Giɗe sent the ransom”.
Another witness, Kehinde Hussein also said: “We held a meeting and after the meeting, he left. About four days later, Abubakar’s wives and family members enquired about him that they didn’t know his whereabouts and I afterwards called Alhaji Saka to know Abubakar’s whereabouts. Alhaji Saka said he was with Hardo Usman, he came to pick him from his side. I went to Sarkin daji and he asked me and Saka to go to Usman which I did alongside Abubakar’s brother, Ibrahim Ahmadu. Usman said Abubakar is with them they should come back on the following Wednesday. Myself and Ibrahim Ahmadu visited Hardo about four times but unfortunately Abubakar was not released. So, we went to a lawyer and he took us to the DSS because Abubakar family would not stop disturbing me.”
Adebayo Adelodun SAN, the defending counsel for both first and third defendants, Usman Adamu and Giɗe Mohammed respectively raised an objection that the purported statements attributed to the two defendants are not admissible on the ground that the DSS operative, Femi Babalola, while recording the defendants’ statements didn’t comply with the provision of Section 33, subsection 2 of the Kwara State Administration of Criminal Justice Act, stating that a suspect volunteers should be allowed to make a statement in the presence of a legal practitioner or a relative of his choice. He thereby termed the statements as “enlarged versions of the exact statements made by the defendants”.
Counsel to Giɗe Mohammed, the second defendant also aligned his submission with the argument of the counsel to the first and third defendants.
In his argument, the Director of Public Prosecution, Ayoola Idowu Akande, said that the provision as cited by the defending counsels are just “procedural laws” not fit enough to render the statements of the three defendants inadmissible before the court.
Adebayo Adelodun SAN, counsel to first and third defendants prayed the judge to grant the first defendant bail on health ground.
The presiding judge, in her ruling, struck out the bail application by the first defendant and thereby adjourned the case till February 1 for the further hearing.
