The suspect, who is the only member of the gang currently in police custody, confessed to taking part in the crime in an interview with Punch correspondent in Minna on Thursday.
Betuwa said, “I am struggling to meet my responsibility as the head of the family. I have two wives and seven children; I started kidnapping to make quick money when the cattle rustling business I started in 2015 was not bringing in enough.
“My wives know that I am a kidnapper; it is through the business that I take care of them.”
He explained that the gang leader, Hamidu Buden, introduced him to the kidnapping venture.
“My greatest worry now is my mother; if she gets to know that I am a kidnapper, she will place a curse on me that will follow me till the end of my life,” Batuwa added.
It was gathered that the incident that led to the suspect’s arrest occurred on September 29, 2019, when Aliyu reported to the police that five persons invaded his compound and kidnapped his daughter.
According to the report, the men fired gunshots into the air to scare away villagers before whisking his daughter away to an unknown destination.
On receiving the report, a team of police detectives attached to the Bangi Division chased after the fleeing abductors and the suspect was arrested in the process and the victim rescued unhurt.
Northern City News gathered that only Betuwa was arrested during the operation as his four accomplices took to their heels and have not been seen since then.
The second-in-command to the state Police Public Relations Officer, Uthman Umar, confirmed the incident.
He said the suspect confessed to the crime, adding that police operatives recovered an empty shell of AK-47 ammunition from the scene.
Umar added that detectives were on the trail of the fleeing suspects and that the case would be charged as soon as investigation was concluded.
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