Full story: How Nigerian soldiers killed policemen, freed kidnap suspect

The soldiers from 93 Battalion were manning a checkpoint at Gidinwaya when they opened fire on a vehicle in which the police officers were taking away a crime suspect.
The police operatives, travelling in a privately-registered white bus, were in Ibi Town to arrest the suspected leader of a kidnapping syndicate, Hamisu Bala, more commonly known as Alhaji Wadume.
PREMIUM TIMES visited the scene of the incident at Gidinwaya, lying on Ibi-Wukari Road – not the widely reported “Ibi-Jalingo road”.

Investigation included testimony by locals who witnessed the incident.

Findings by PREMIUM TIMES indicate that the public statement of last Wednesday by the army contained claims that were significantly different from what happened at Gidinwaya.
The slain officers are Mark Ediale, an inspector, and two sergeants – Usman Danzumi and Dahiru Musa. The civilian killed is called Jibrin.

Who Shot First ?

In a statement last Wednesday, army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, described the police operatives as “suspected kidnappers who turned out to be an Intelligence Response Team…on a covert assignment from Abuja.”

Mr Musa said the team refused to stop at military checkpoints.

It was in this process that the suspected kidnappers who were obviously armed opened fire at the troops sporadically thus prompting them to return fire,” said the army spokesperson.

Contrary to that claim, two witnesses separately told PREMIUM TIMES there was no shooting at the soldiers by the police team.

However, the police did not stop for disclosure at the military checkpoint, about 100 metres from the actual scene of the incident, investigation further showed.

“His (Mr Wadume’s) boys were following the police bus from Ibi after the arrest,” a source, who witnessed the incident and interacted with the “boys” from Ibi, said.

“They (the boys) were the one who told the soldiers at the first checkpoint that the bus that just passed was of kidnappers who abducted Alhaji Wadume. Alhaji Wadume is well known to the soldiers and they can do anything to protect him”.

The source further added that the soldiers at the first checkpoint then called their colleagues at the second checkpoint, right inside Gidinwaya, who were directly involved in the pursuit and killings.

The source identified the civilian as Jibrin, a mason, who he said he knew.

The civilian was a police informant, whose brother was said to have been killed by persons allegedly working for Mr Wadume.

“I don’t know why the police did not wait or disclose their identities to the soldiers but they might think the soldiers were going to rescue Wadume because they knew he was generous to them,” added the source, who said one of the five soldiers, Musa, who allegedly killed the policemen and Jibrin, was his acquaintance.

“But I believe they initially did not know they were policemen. They thought they were kidnappers.”

That the soldiers thought the police officers were kidnappers and wanted to rescue a victim, particularly Mr Wadume, “whom they know well”, is a belief shared by three witnesses separately interviewed by PREMIUM TIMES.

The source continued:

“They (soldiers at the second checkpoint) started pursuing and shooting at the bus, resulting in an accident. “The police wanted to come out and run. The soldiers shot at them and two died immediately. Jibrin (the civilian) also died. The third one wanted to show his police ID card but they still finished (killed) him. They saw the police jacket on him and they still killed him. Others managed to escape before being killed but they sustained injuries too.”

How Wadume Was Freed

As the soldiers pursued and fatally attacked the police team, according to sources, Mr Wadume’s supporters who had been following from Ibi joined and formed a riotous mob.

“Everything took about 20 minutes and while it (the attack) was ongoing, Alhaji Wadume was sitting cross-legged on the road with handcuff,” said the source.

“Later, they dipped their hands into their pockets and brought ID cards out. They saw their ID cards after they had killed them but the soldiers still said the ID cards were fake.

Then, the boys started saying ‘let’s go’ and also cursing. They were querying what the government had done for them and saying that it was he (Mr Wadume) that they knew and took benefits from.

“Then, the soldiers removed the handcuff and asked him (Mr Wdume) to find his way. I saw them (soldiers), five of them with my eyes. After the handcuff was removed, he entered a black car his boys brought and they drove him back towards Ibi.”

“They did not hide it. It was on that tarred road (Ibi-Wukari Road) that everything happened. They hailed themselves after everything. Their oga, Captain Usman, joined them there and he was the one who took away the guns taken from the policemen.”

The said captain, PREMIUM TIMES identified as Mr Usman, is a constant mention among several persons PREMIUM TIMES interacted with across Ibi, Gidinwaya and Wukari.

He is said to have nurtured a rapport with Mr Wadume.

“They are doing everything together,” a source said, referring to Mr Wadume and the captain, adding: “Even the king (Aku Ibi). Dem dey collabo (they collaborate). The king likes him, everybody likes him.

He spends money like government. He solves problems. I know 11 boys he gave motorcycles in Gidinwaya alone.”

The source alleged that Ibi’s traditional ruler and the captain, Mr Usman, provided some support for Mr Wadume’s syndicate. We were not able to verify this claim.

The five soldiers, deployed to the Gidinwaya checkpoint and involved in the killings, and the captain, are now being held by authorities to face a probe.

Both the army and the police have made counterclaims regarding whether the police team reported their presence and mission at the formations in Taraba.

However, PREMIUM TIMES could not establish the veracity of any of the claims as officers across levels in Taraba declined to comment.

The police commissioner, Alkassim Sanusi, and the spokesperson for the Taraba command, David Misal, said there was a strict directive that no comment should be made to the press on the matter.

PREMIUM TIMES