Sixteen men, including a former legislator and a vigilance group commander alleged to be involved in kidnapping, ritual murder and sale of the human private organs in Kogi State were yesterday paraded by the police in Abuja.
Police spokesman, Ag. DCP Jimoh Moshood,said male and female organs, including that of a police inspector were harvested and sold by the syndicate whose ages range between 19 and 45 years.
The gang,according to Moshood,was working under the instructions or request of a wealthy businessman, Alhaji Shaibu Adamu alias Aye-Marina (43 years).
A manhunt is underway to arrest patrons of the group.
The police sid the arrested men have confessed to the killings and removal of body parts of several people.
However, Alhaji Shaibu Adamu and Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali, a former Kogi state legislator vociferously disowned the gang’s leader who claimed to have been liaising with them, adding that they are doing legitimate businesses with credible business partners including the first son of a former governor of Kogi State.
Aside from six identified victims including the late Inspector Abdul Alfa who was axed from behind and his police rifle snatched, most of the human organs sale syndicate’s victims cannot be properly identified, even after helpful confession from the criminal suspects.
Names of the suspects who are indigenes of Ankpa local government in Kogi state as given by the police include: Honourable Abdulahi Ibrahim Ali, alias Halims (35);his driver, Alhaji Abdullahi Zakari (35); a businessman, Alhaji Shaibu Adamu alias Aye-Marina (43); Akwu Audu (21); Sale Adama (45); Musa Abdulahi (32);Yakubu Yahaya (30); Adama Shagari (30); Baba Isah (23); Isaac Alfa (19); Idoko Benjamin (20);and Yakubu Hamidu (39) alleged to be the gang leader while also working as vigilance group commander in Ankpa Local Government.
Four other suspects who hail from neighbouring Ofu local are Ubile Attah (21); Julius Alhassan (30); Shehu Haliru alias Fedeco (25); and Abdullahi Tijani (27).
Exhibits allegedly recovered from them are one pump action gun, two locally fabricated single barrel guns and three short axes.
According to the police spokesman, the rampant cases of missing persons, killing of innocent people and the removal of their private parts for ritual purposes in Ankpa town and environs made the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris to direct the IGP Strike Force attached to Operation Absolute Sanity to investigate all such cases, arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
“In the course of investigation , it was discovered that this gang – from information and intelligence gathered from public spirited individuals and other residents- were responsible for kidnapping, gruesome murder, and ritual killings of innocent people in Kogi State, travellers passing through Kogi State and strangers coming into towns in the area were mostly victims.
”Yakubu Hamidu (39 years old Gang Leader and a Vigilante Commander of Ankpa), and his vigilante guards are the hit-men responsible for the killings of several victims and removing their organs, mostly male and female organs including other body parts such as the head, kidney, and other vital body organs and selling them to personalities within and outside the state for rituals.
“During interrogations, the Gang Leader, Yakubu Hamidu and his members now in Police custody confessed to the crime and admitted that they were sponsored and working for Abdulahi Ibrahim Ali alias Halims and Alhaji Shaibu Adamu alias Aye- Marina whom they handed over the body parts to, after killing their victims and severing their body organs and collecting huge sums of money ; Aye-Marina’s driver known as Zakaru receives the body parts from Yakubu Hamidu.
” Abdulahi Ibrahim Ali a.k.a Halims who has volunteered statement to the investigators is now in Police custody and is suspected to have used the proceeds of crime to build and own so many properties including big hotels and several filling stations in Kogi State while Alhaji Shaibu Adamu a.k.a Aye Marina, without any known profession or any known means of livelihood was suspected also to have built ,and owns mansions and four filling stations in Ankpa, Kogi State and another four at Onyangede in Benue State with the proceeds of the crime.
“Yakubu Hamidu, Julius Alhasan, Shehu Haliru, Ubile Attah and Akwu Audu have confessed to the gruesome killing of Inspector Abdul Alfa attached to Ejule Police outpost in Ofu Local Government on 28 th November, 2017 and carted away the Police rifle in his possession.
“All the suspects have made voluntary statements to the Police Investigation Team and have confessed to the various criminal roles they played in the recent kidnapping, gruesome murder and ritual killing attacks on innocent residents and the killing of a Police Inspector, Inspr. Abdul Alfa, attached to Ejule Police Outpost, in Kogi State.
“Investigation is being concluded and efforts being intensified to arrest other suspects who include prominent personalities linked to the crime but still at large; they will all be arraigned in court on completion of investigation .
Credit: The Nation.
