The picture of Capt. Balarabe Tijani has been trending in the media as the soldier who allegedly ordered the killing of undercover police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives who went to Ibi, Taraba State, to arrest a notorious kidnapper, Hamisu Bala, alias Wadume.
The IRT operatives were shot dead on August 6 by soldiers of the 93 Battalion, Taraba State who, thereafter, took Bala to their base and had his handcuffs removed through the effort of a welder before he escaped.
Those killed were Inspector Mark Ediale and Sergeants Usman Danzumi and Dahiru Musa as well as a civilian informant, Olajide Owolabi 6
Wadume was rearrested on Monday in Hotoro Layin Mai Allo in Nassarawa local government area of Kano State by IRT, led by its head, Mr. Abba Kyari who is a deputy commissioner of police.
Prior to the incidents, Tijani and Wadume allegedly exchanged over 191 telephone calls and messages in less than one month.
After his arrest Wadume confessed to the police interrogators that he had maintained a close relationship with military and law enforcement authorities in Taraba State for a long time.
A source said he also confessed that he was a friends with Tijani, as well as a police division crime officer in Ibi, Taraba State, sources said.
He also said it was Tijani who ordered soldiers to open fire on the police team and set him free, before a welder machine was later brought in to break the police handcuffs.
The Nation reports that Wadume confessed to have sent huge amount of money the army captain’s bank account three weeks ago.
In addition to the captain, Wadume was said to have some other officers on his payroll.
It was gathered that the suspected kidnapper also paid his way through checkpoints.
It was learnt he and his gang avoided arrest by giving N20, 000 to security agents each time they passed a checkpoint.
A highly placed source said two of Tijani’s boys, ”Babaruns” and ”Zubairu”, called him on August 6 to tell him about Bala’s arrest.
The source said Balarabe, acting on the tipoff, directed his soldiers to “rescue” Wadume.
During interrogation, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, the suspect was said to have told detectives that after the killing of the police personnel, the soldiers took him to the barracks, from where the captain allegedly took him to his house, where a welder was invited to cut off the hand and leg chains.
The suspect, alleged to have run three kidnap syndicates in Taraba and Nasarawa states, had a network of major firearms suppliers, it was learnt.
The police have so far recovered 13 vehicles and identified several choice properties in Taraba and Nasarawa allegedly bought through proceeds of crime.
The police also learnt that Wadume owned over 400 cows reared by his boys, who fled with them on learning that their boss had been arrested.
“He has made so many revelations. A lot of things have been said that I don’t want to talk about to avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations. It is a huge network and so many people are involved.
“I can tell you that he confessed to have paid huge money into the Captain’s bank account three weeks ago and that he usually gave each checkpoint N20, 000 each time he passed,” said a source privy to the investigation.
The Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Defence Headquarters to unravel the circumstances surrounding the officers’ killings by soldiers is said to be worried about a trending video of Wadume.
A video of his confession on how he was arrested and later set free by soldiers had been trending in social media.
The video showed Wadume confessing that soldiers took him to their base and had his handcuff removed through the effort of a welder before he escaped.
Sources within the panel said Wadume’s confession had put the military high command in bad light, pointing out that the new development should have been ironed out with the police high command since the investigation was ongoing.
The source, who craved anonymity said: “We are seriously disturbed and alarmed by the latest video on the purported confession of the re-arrested kingpin, Wadume, while in the custody of the police.
“Though it is a commendable effort for the re-arrest of the kidnap kingpin, the video recording of the alleged confession of Wadume while the panel is still conducting its investigation is quite worrisome as efforts are being put in place to ensure smooth relations between the military and the police before the offending confession.
“Though our panel was inaugurated on August 9 with an initial one-week deadline, we have been mandated to continue and conclude the probe as soon as possible.
“The arrest of Wadume would definitely shed more light on our investigation, considering the volume of arrests and interrogations so far.”
