Police Arrest Suspected Killers Of Seminarian Michael Nnadi in Kaduna

Operatives of the Nigeria Police have arrested three members of an alleged notorious gang of kidnappers in Kaduna that has been responsible for numerous murders, including a Catholic seminarian, Michael Nnadi.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, said in a statement on Sunday that the gang had orchestrated a number of widely reported crimes, including the kidnapping, murder and rape.

Eighteen years old Nnadi of the Catholic Good Shepherd Seminary, Chikun, was kidnapped with three of his schoolmates on January 8.

Mba said the suspects were also responsible for kidnap and murder of Bola Ataga; and the kidnap of six students and two teachers of Engravers College in October 2018.

“The criminal gang stormed the Catholic Seminary and kidnapped four (4) seminarians, murdered one of them in cold blood and released the remaining three on 31st January, 2020, having obtained a ransom,” he said .

He described events that led to Michael’s death, saying, “The remains of the fourth seminarian were found in a bush where it was abandoned.”

Mba identified suspects as Tukur Usman ‘m’ aged 37, father of seven; Shehu Bello ‘m’ aged 40, father of five; and Mustapha Mohammed ‘m’ aged 30, father of one, all of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He said the suspects were arrested following was months of investigation by crack detectives of the Intelligence Response Team of Nigeria Police Force.

“Discreet investigations so far reveal that the arrested suspects are part of a 19-man gang that also carried out the kidnap of Dr Phillip Ataga’s wife and two daughters on January 24, 2020, at Juji Community in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State,” Mba said.

“Mrs Ataga was killed by the gang following her heroic resistance to the despicable and inhuman attempt by the leader of the gang to rape her. The suspects after killing her released the daughters and corpse of the slain woman to the family after collecting ransom.

“The suspects, known to belong to a hybrid terrorist criminal network causing untold havoc in North-Central Nigeria, have confessed to several other random operations along Abuja-Kaduna Expressway where they kidnapped, killed and robbed motorists, collecting ransom and valuables running into millions of naira.”

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said the force would remain relentless in making sure that “crimes across the country are reduced to the barest minimum”.

Adamu also gave assurance that other members of the gang who are currently at large would be apprehended and brought to book, Mba said.