Gombe Police, DSS, Army foil planned abduction of students

A combined efforts of the Police, Army and men of the Department of State Security (DSS)  were able to successfully burst a planned kidnap and abduction of students from the Gombe State College of Islamic and Legal Studies in Nafada, a border town with Yobe State.

Briefing newsmen Friday afternoon, Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Shina Tairu Olukolu, who was accompanied by the State Director of DSS and the Commander of the 301 Artillery Regiment, said the synergy between the three Forces disrupted the planned kidnap which has led to the arrest of the suspected insurgent, one Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed.

However, Mohammed a 26-year-old student of Sharia and Legal Studies Department of the School confessed to sending the threat of the planned abduction through a text message saying however that he did it because he was not ready for the impending examination of the college, hence, the threatening text message.

According to the Commissioner of Police, on 14th March, 2018 around 1:30 pm, an information from the Divisional Police Officer in Nafada indicated that an unknown person with GSM number 08165963766 sent a threatening text message of a mass abduction of the Students of the Gombe State College of Islamic and Legal Studies to the Registrar of the School.

He quoted the text message which read, “unless the impending examination is stopped and the college closed down, there will be mass abduction of students and staff killed”.

He said due to the professionalism of the Services and the seamless collaboration, the synergy between the three forces paid off and the prime suspect, Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed was arrested.

Also arrested were his cohorts, Haruna Mohammed, 28, and Gambo Mohammed, 37, who bought and pre- registered the sim and used it in sending the threat message.

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The Police who paraded Abubakar Sadiq along with other suspects also displayed seven pre-registered sim cards and the sim pack of the sim used in sending the threat message with twelve other sim packs.

The Police also displayed four different Local Government indigenes Certificates (Akko, Kwami, Gombe and Yamaltu/Deba) all bearing Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed. One voter’s card bearing the suspect’s name and two UN Medals and many pieces of equipment were recovered from the suspects.

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He called on the public to continue to partner with Police and other security agencies by giving genuine information at all times.

He, however, warned that people must “desist from taking the laws into their hands by either mob attack or confronting security agencies in the performance of their constitutional duties”.