From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Wonders they say will never end. How would you describe a situation where a stranger walks into a private school with all the security in place, picks a child that is not his without being challenged by the school authorities.
Well this is the case of Abdukraheem Kamarudeen, a 24-year-old artisan, who strolled into a private primary school, located at New Karu, Nassarawa State and abducted a nine-year-old boy (names withheld).
The little boy, who happens to live on the same street with Kamarudeen, did not have an idea that he was going to be kidnapped on that fateful day of December 15, being the day his school, Hope of Destiny, closed for the year. So, he went away with this stranger son of the devil with excitement after lying to him that his parents had asked him to come pick him up to start computer classes.
Excited, the little boy followed him happily, only for him to take him to a hotel room also in New Karu. While in the hotel room, he brought out his laptop as promised and commenced the computer classes to get the boys attention and he did this and the boy got carried away in excitement. The computer class went on until about 6 O’clock in the evening when he took the boy out and bought him noodles and egg and took him back to the room after the meal.
Incidentally, at the hotel where they lodged, the hotel management did not bother to ask who the child was to him.
After keeping the child for over eight hours, he put a call to his father asking him to pay a ransom of N 1.5 million to get his son released and the father who did not want any harm to befall his little boy agreed to pay the huge amount.
He also made the son to talk to his father who assured him that he was coming to get him shortly not knowing that he had been kidnapped.
Kamarudeen, then described a place where the money should be dropped with a warning that he must come alone or have himself to blame. Few minutes after he collected the ransom, he released the boy from captivity and went on a spending spree. First he bought two set of mobile telephones, clothes and some household items for his wife and children.
But unknown to him, the matter was reported to the police and personnel of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) deployed to track and arrest the suspect.
He was eventually arrested three days after by which time he had spent over N200,000.
A native of Osun State, the suspect who claims this is his first time of kidnapping narrated how he nurtured the idea to Sunday Sun and eventually carried out his wicked plan, though he said he treated the boy who he described as very intelligent nicely. Hear him:
“My name is Abdulraheem Kamarudeen, I am from Oyo State. I am 24 years old. I attended Abubakar Ali Tatari Polytechnic, Bauchi State. I studied mathematic and statistics.
“I work as a phone and laptop repairer.
I got into the act of kidnapping out of greed and to make money. It is actually my first kidnap attempt because I have not done it before.I targeted that particular boy because his parents have money and the school he attends is not too far from where we live. The name of the school is Hope of Destiny.”
How I got into the school
It was on their vacation day so I took the advantage of the crowd to gain access. That was on December 15. I went inside the school premises, I now met him and told him that I want to teach him how to learn computer. I don’t really know weather he knows me and I did not take permission from the teachers or any member of staff because it was their vacation day, everybody was busy running up and down and nobody took notice of my presence, everybody was just on their own. So after explaining that I want to teach him computer, he showed interest and agreed that he wants to learn. As I picked him from the school, I took him to the hotel in our area where I had booked and when we got there, I started to teach him so that he will nit start saying he wants to go home. I paid N2,500, per night. I really took my time to teach him because from the afternoon that I picked him, I started to teach him until in the night before the system went off. I taught him many things that he was supposed to know about computer. And when they took the light, the hotel people put on the generator and I now charged the system. As I charge the system, I now said he should practice and let me see and he practiced everything I taught him and did very well, I was shocked and he told me he was done with that aspect of the training that we should continue on another area that we should proceed. As he told me that we should proceed, I said let’s sleep. We watched some movies for a while and I bought him suya, fried yam, egg and juice and slept off.
The hotel people did not suspect anything about me and the boy and nobody asked me who the boy was to me.
In the morning, I asked him what he would eat for breakfast and he told me he was not ready to eat and he went to take his bath and I continued with the computer classes and taught him further as I had promised him. After sometimes we now went to one guy that cooks noodles and tea. He prepared noodles, egg and tea for the boy, while I took bread, egg and tea. Nobody suspected that I kidnapped the boy because he was not wearing his school uniform. Like I told you, it was their vacation day and so all the children came in their different clothes. So he was still wearing the native. After eating, we now went back to the hotel room. When we got to the room, he started asking after his parents and at that point, I called his father and I gave him the phone to talk with his father and he talked to his father and he told him he will come to see him soon and he was relaxed while we continued with the computer class.
But all through the period that I held him hostage and when I released him, the boy never knew that I kidnapped him, he thought that his parents asked me to teach him computer like I made him believe. I did not beat or maltreated him in anyway, I just concentrated on teaching him computer as I promised him.
After that, I called the father asking him to bring N1.5 million if he wants to see his son and described where he should take the money to. After describing the place, I went there ahead of him to wait and when he came, I saw him and asked him to drop the money at a particular spot, as he dropped it, I was nearby looking at him to make sure he did not come with policemen. After he dropped it, I now released the boy to him and I went and picked the money, counted it and it was complete.
How I spend the money
I used the money to buy some household items because I am a married man with two children. I bought some foodstuff, settle some of my debts, I bought two mobile phones one for N50,000 and the other for N30,000. I had spent about N200,000 before I was arrested.
How I was arrested
I was tracked three days after the incident and arrested by IRT officers.
How do you feel
Honestly, I feel very bad.