The abduction of a professional footballer and automobile businessman, Mohammed Goni Jidda, has been thwarted by operatives of the Nigeria Police in Kaduna.
Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mansir Hassan, in a statement on Wednesday, said, “The said incident which took place on the 23rd July, 2024, at a hotel in Kano, had the victim being whisked away by his abductors who were five in number and headed towards Abuja before they were intercepted by the ever vigilant Police operatives attached to Sabin Gari Division, Zaria, on routine patrol.”
He explained that the suspicious sitting posture of the occupants of the vehicle in which Jidda was being transported alerted the Police operatives that something was fishy and they acted swiftly, leading to the rescue of the victim unhurt and subsequent arrest of one of the suspect, Alfaki Abdullahi.
“Preliminary inquiry indicates that the suspects arrived Kano from Maiduguri in order to kidnap the victim, a resident of FCT Abuja, who came to Kano for a business endeavour,” the police spokesman added.
The statement further disclosed that the suspects had contacted the victim’s close associates demanding a huge sum as ransom before the Police struck.
He said the rescued victim and the arrested suspect would soon be handed over to the Police Command in Kano, where the abduction occurred.
According to the statement, the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State, A.D. Ali, lauded the Police officers for their dogged vigilance and warned criminals to stay away from the state.
Police foil abduction of professional footballer, arrest suspect in Kaduna