TheCable

The Zamfara command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), says it has arrested four suspects for an alleged attempt to kidnap a two-year-old baby.

Ikor Oche, the state command’s spokesperson, said this in a statement on Monday.

Oche said the suspects were arrested while attempting to kidnap the baby on January 21 in Angwan Shado area of Gusau, the state capital.

He said the suspects forcefully snatched the infant from its 13-year-old sister, Umalkaidi Shahibilu who was running an errand in the area.

After snatching the child, the suspect ran into an uncompleted building where the other accomplices lay in wait, the statement added.

Oche said Shahibilu described the suspect as dressed in all-black regalia.

The NSCDC later identified him as a 25-year-old Muslim Sani.

The other suspects are Abdulrazak Bashir, 20, Tukur Bello, 24, and Jafar Lawal, 23.

The NSCDC spokesperson said the elder sister of the kidnapped baby raised an alarm which attracted community members who eventually tracked the abducted child to the kidnappers’ lair.

He said investigations revealed that the four suspects were at the uncompleted building under the influence of drugs and denied any knowledge of the kidnap, claiming to be heavily dazed with opium and marijuana.

“The investigations revealed that the four suspects were in the crime scene and two of them were identified by the elder sister and brother to the kidnapped baby as those who snatched the baby as testified,” the statement reads.

Muhammad Muazu, the NSCDC commandant, said all suspects would be taken to court after investigation and urged parents to be vigilant about their children.