by Chinedu Asadu


A panel set up by the Defence Headquarters to investigate the killing of three policemen and a civilian by soldiers in Taraba state has arrested two policemen.

Daily Trust reports that the two policemen working at Ibi police division “were arrested for allegedly leaking information to suspected kidnap kingpin Hamisu Wadume of plans to arrest him”.

TheCable could not immediately confirm the report as Onyema Nwachukwu, defence spokesman, has not responded to enquiries made as at the time of filing this report.

The panel was also reported to have ordered the arrest of five soldiers who were at the army checkpoint.

It was further gathered that 60 people alleged to be working for the suspected kidnap kingpin are on the run.

The panel is said to have also dismantled the two army checkpoints along the road where the killings occurred while the bodies of those killed have been conveyed to Abuja.

A source was quoted as saying among those being hunted are drivers of commercial vehicles and motorcycles belonging to the kidnap suspect.

The defence headquarters (DHQ) had set up a panel to investigate the death of the policemen shot by soldiers while conveying the suspect along Ibi-Jalingo road in Taraba.

Sagir Musa, the army spokesman, had said the soldiers mistook the officers for kidnappers, adding that they were responding to a distress call on a purported kidnap incident within the area but the police dismissed his claim.

The police had while condemning the incident,
accused the army of lying over its claim that the killing was a mistake.

However, the army said the police was making “inciting and inflammatory” comments over the incident. It warned of a possible escalation of the crisis.

Two policemen working at Ibi Police Division were said to have been arrested by the panel investigating the killing of three policemen and a civilian on August 6 at a check point.

Daily Trust gathered that the two policemen were arrested for allegedly leaking information to suspected kidnap kingpin Hamisu Wadume of plans to arrest him.

The arrested police men were said to have been taken to Abuja.

The panel, it was gathered, had also ordered the arrest of five soldiers, who were on duty at Army check point.

Daily Trust further gathered that two Army checkpoints between boundary of Wukari and Ibi local government areas have been dismantled.

It was also learnt that the corpses of three police men and the civilian were moved from Jalingo to Abuja.

Daily Trust further gathered that 60 people alleged to be working for the suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, are now on the run.

Those on the run include the manager of Wadume’s transport business as well as those who benefited from his generosity.

A source in Ibi told our reporter that some of them were working as drivers of commercial vehicles and motorcycles belonging to suspected kidnap kingpin.

According to the source they disappeared two days after the killings of the officials.

The detectives, led by Deputy Police Commissioner (DCP) Abba Kyari, have sealed some houses belonging to the suspected kidnap kingpin in Ibi, the source said.

Attempts yesterday to contact the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), DCP Frank Mba, over the purported arrest were unsuccessful.

Mba neither answered phone calls nor responded to text messages by Daily Trust.
Also, the spokesman of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu was not reachable on his mobile phone number at the time of filing this report.

Uteghe:
This is good news. I still believe creation of Biafra will stop kidnapping.

Uteghe:
This is good news. I still believe creation of Biafra will stop kidnapping.

175:
In this game, Na the families of the deceased loose

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