Niger State Government Demolishes Suspected Kidnapper's House 

Niger State government over the weekend demolished a house belonging to a suspected kidnapper in Minna, the state capital.

The two-bedroom apartment with an uncompleted two-bedroom extension within the same compound was built on a plot of land in the Nkangbe community in Bosso local government area of Niger state.

The suspect was alleged to have confessed to participating in abductions of several persons and cattle rustling around the state in recent times and was able to build the demolished house and another uncompleted two-bedrooms flat with the proceeds of his criminal activities.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Emmanuel Umaru, while addressing newsmen in Minna on Saturday, confirmed that the state government has demolished a house belonging to a suspected kidnapper in Bosso Local Government Area of the state.

Umaru alleged that the suspect who is currently with security personnel was one of the suspects of the recent kidnapping at the University of Abuja.

He explained that joint security agencies operations led to the arrest of the suspect. The commissioner also said that the suspect’s confession led to the rescue of the kidnapped staff of the University of Abuja.

“We will not allow our state to be a safe haven for kidnappers, bandits, or any criminal,” he said.

He urged residents to be vigilant and security conscious around their communities and report dubious characters to nearest security outfits.

Umaru said that the state government along with security agencies had mapped out a comprehensive security network to flush out all those behind criminal acts in the state.

“We will give all the necessary support to the police and other security personnel deployed in the ongoing fight against banditry, kidnapping, and other criminal elements to perform optimally.

“We have already reached out to traditional rulers and other stakeholders to mobilise residents on the need to support the security agencies with required intelligence information that could aid in apprehending miscreants in their midst”, Umaru said.

He, therefore appeal to residents not to hesitate to report any person or group of people with questionable character to the nearest security outfits for prompt actions.

Hassan Musa, one of the neighbours said, “He just moved in two months ago. The house was plastered in a rush but we did not ask him what he does for a living nor where he worked. We felt it is just someone who moved from a rented house to his own apartment. We never deemed it fit to ask questions about him as he comes in and goes out on his motorcycle.”