Three soldiers and two Police officers who have been fingered among those involved in the kidnap and assassination attempt of Senator Sani Musa representing Niger East Senatorial District are currently on the run.
However, Nigeriacrime.com learned that five others suspected to be connected with the crime have been arrested, arraigned in court and remanded in the Minna Correctional Centre till next year.
One of the two police officers is said to be an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
The State Criminal Investigation and Intelligent Department (SCIID) of the Niger state police command declared the whereabouts of the five suspects as unknown while arraigning five other suspects in connection with the incident before the Chief Magistrate Court one in Minna.
The First Information Report (FIR) by the police reads, “the three Army officers from the 31 Artillery Brigade Minna including CPL Mohammed J who are now at large were armed with AK 47 rifles deployed to 31 Artillery Brigade Minna during the aborted kidnapping of the Senator.
“Police investigation also revealed that two of the suspects nabbed at the Senator’s house in Minna, Oladele Peter Akano and Sheriff Jimbarima presented themselves as Army personnel and staff from the office of the National Security Adviser to gain access to the residence of the Senator in Minna, Niger state.
However, the five other suspects arraigned in court are Felix Clarkson, Oladele Peter Akano, Abdul Salisu, Inspector Babagana Alhaji and Sheriff Jimbarima.
They are standing trial on six count charges of criminal conspiracy, attempt to commit an offence to wit kidnapping, attempt to commit an offence with armed robbery, criminal trespass, personating a public servant and mischief to property.
The prosecuting police officers, ASP Abdullahi Mayaki and Inspector Aliyu Yakubu both argued that the offences contravened sections 3 (1),3 (2) of the kidnapping law of Niger State 2016 and sections 95,348,132, and 327 of the penal code.
The prosecutors had told the Court that during police preliminary investigations, all the suspects had confessed to have conspired together with ASP Mohammed Umar, Inspector Yakubu Gabriel and three others at large to board a bus from Abuja to Minna for the kidnap operation.
The Prosecutor said some of them had dressed in mufti and two other Army personnel dressed in Army uniform armed with AK 47 riffles deployed from Nigerian Army Artillery Brigade of the Army Barrack in Minna all at large with intent to kidnap Senator Sani Mohammed Musa 313”, the Police said.
When the presiding chief Magistrate Mallam Adamu Abubakar read the charges to them, they all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, therefore, prayed the court to remand them in correctional custody to enable the police to arrest the fleeing suspects
The court then ordered the remand of the suspects in Minna correctional custody and adjourned the case to January 3, 2023.