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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
After over two years of gruesome trial, the Abuja division of the Federal High Court has sentenced the Taraba based kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (popularly known as Wadume) and two others to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
Two other suspects, Auwalu Bala (aka Omo Razor) and Bashir Waziri (aka Baba Runs) were however lucky as they were discharged and acquitted by the court for want of evidence against them.
Justice Binta Nyako, in her judgment delivered on July 22 convicted Wadume on counts two and 10 of the 13-count charge brought against him and six others by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on behalf of the Federal Government.
In the judgment, sighted in Abuja, Wadume was specifically convicted for escaping from lawful custody and unlawfully dealing in prohibited firearms.
Other defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2020 are: Aliyu Dadje (a police inspector), Auwalu Bala (aka omo razor), Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu), Bashir Wazlri (aka baba runs), Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) and Rayyanu Abdul.
Justice Nyako also convicted and sentenced Inspector Dadje to three years on count seven, in which he was accused of tampering with Police record to conceal a crime.
Dadje, who was a Station Officer at the Ibi Divisional Police Headquarters, Ibi Local Government Area, Taraba State was said to have, in August 2019 willfully, “Tampered with the entry made by the leader of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP IRT), Insp. Felix Adolije, by tearing off the entry page to cover up for Captain Tijani Ahmed Balarabe and his team”, when he knew that an offence of terrorism had been committed by Capt. Balarabe and his team, who attacked and killed three members of the team and two civilians who were in Ibi, Taraba State to make lawful arrest.
The Judge equally convicted and sentenced Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu) and Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) to seven years each on counts three, four, five, six and 11. The duo was, in the four counts, charged with illegal possession and unlawful dealing in prohibited firearms and ammunition.
Justice Nyako also convicted and sentenced Abdul to three years for harbouring Wadume in his house in Kano after Wadume’s escape from police custody in Ibi and struck out count one, in which Wadume was charged with kidnaping Usman Garba (aka Mayo) and collecting N106 million before releasing him.
The Federal government had, in June 2020, arraigned Hamisu Bala, also known as Wadume, and other six defendants, on amended 13-counts of terrorism, kidnapping and other related offences.
Apart from Wadume and Mr Auwalu, other defendants are: Aliyu Dadje (a police Inspector), Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu) Bashir Waziri (aka Baba Runs), Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) and Rayyanu Abdul.
Wadume was first arrested in Ibi, Taraba State, by members of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police on August 6, 2019 before soldiers led by Tijjani Balarabe, a captain, aided his escape from the custody of the policemen ferrying him to Abuja.
The Mr Balarabe-led troops attached to the 93 Battalion in Takum, Taraba State, had allegedly shot at the policemen who were conveying Wadume to Abuja shortly after arresting the prime suspect in Taraba State on August 6, 2019.
The soldiers were said to have killed three policemen and two civilians while five others were wounded in the attack aimed at freeing Wadume from police custody.
They were accused of conspiring to commit felony, to wit: acts of terrorism, by attacking and kidnapping one Usman Garba, aka Mayo, at his filling station in Takum, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 17 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Amendment Act 2013.”
They were also accused of possessing six AK-47 rifles and dealing in prohibited firearms contrary to Section 27 (1)(a)(I) and (1)(b)(iii) of the Firearms Act 2004.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, removed the names of the soldiers as defendants from the case after taking over the suit from the police in July 2020.
