By Umar Salam.
Latest reports have emerged on the intrigues surrounding the killing of three policemen on a covert mission to arrest a kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, in Taraba State last week.
According to sources who spoke to New Telegraph, the soldiers who gunned down the policemen were ordered by a captain believed to be a beneficiary of Wadume’s generosity to military officers in the area.
The sources added that the kidnap gang leader, Wadume, had a few months ago paid a N1.5m ransom to rescue a soldier who was abducted by another gang in the state.
Further revelation by the sources, refuted the Army’s claim that the police officers were killed because they failed to identify themselves, hence, were mistaken for kidnappers.
The sources revealed that the policemen encountered the soldiers at three checkpoints and introduced themselves, stating what they came for.
“They even chatted, joked and exchanged pleasantries.
“The arrest was made within 20 minutes and while they were returning, soldiers at the first and second checkpoints asked them if they were already through. The soldiers and operatives know one another, but the phone call from a top military personnel changed everything”, one of the sources was quoted as saying.
Another source said: “When the operatives got to Ibi town, they booked their arrival at the police station and proceeded with assistance from a policeman attached to them in the state headquarters, Jalingo, to trace and arrest Alhaji Hamisu Wadume, who is wanted because he is linked to several kidnappings in Taraba State, including a recent kidnapping in which N100 million was collected as ransom.
“After arresting Wadume, the operatives were heading to police headquarters at Jalingo, when gang members of Wadume, who are close to an army captain serving in Ibi town, called the army and told him that his friend had been kidnapped. Without any verification or inquiries, the army captain ordered his men along the highway to ambush the policemen.”
The army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, is yet to make any statement on the new revelations since it went viral.