Friday, May 1o, 2024 –The Kano State Police Command has arrested a 35-year-old man, Sadiq Zubairu, for the murder of Bello Bukar Adam, a staff of the Kano State Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).
Bello was declared missing by his family after he left home on Sunday,
May 5, 2024, and didn't return.
His corpse was later found at a location in Kumbotso Local Government
Area of the state.
Bello’s younger brother, Abdullahi Abubakar, said the deceased was at
home around 12pm on Sunday when he received an urgent call from the suspect,
Sadiq, who was his confidant and former colleague.
The spokesperson of the command, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who
confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday, May 9, said that Sadiq had
deceitfully collected the sum of N3m from late Bello on the pretext that he
would secure a better job offer for him.
According to the PPRO, Sadiq confessed that he had no means of returning
the money to the deceased, so he hired two hefty men, conspired with them and
killed Bello.
“On 05/05/2024 at about 10:00am, report was received from a resident of
Zawaciki Quarters in Kumbotso LGA, Kano State that his elder brother, Bello
Bukar Adam, a KEDCO staff, aged 45 years old, 'm', of Zawaciki Housing Estate,
Kano had left his home with his Toyota Corolla Motor Vehicle, Ash in Colour
since on 04/05/2024 and his whereabouts is unknown,” the statement read.
"On the evening of the same date, there was a report that the
deceased body of a male adult had been discovered abandoned at the outskirts of
Eastern Bypass, around Bechi Village in Kumbotso LGA, Kano State. The body was
removed from the scene by a team of crime-scene Policemen led by Divisional
Police Officer (DPO), Kumbotso Division, SP Mustafa Abubakar, who brought the
corpse to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, where a Medical Doctor certified the
body dead
"On the developments, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State
Command, CP Mohammed Usaini Gumel, FIPMA, psc raised from the headquarters team
of detectives led by the Officer in Charge (O/C), Anti-Kidnapping Squad, SP
Aliyu Mohammed Auwal and directed that the suspect (s) be trailed and arrested
within 24 hours.
"The team immediately swung into action and arrested one Sadiq
Zubairu, aged 35 years old, 'm', of Hotoron Arewa Quarters, Nassarawa LGA on
06/05/2024 at 9:00am.
"During preliminary investigations, the suspect confessed that he
conspired with two others, and jointly lured the victim to his house who until
his death were intimate friends. He narrated that he tied him up and hit him
with sticks and sharp iron on his head and other parts of his body until he
became motionless. Thereafter, he loaded the motionless body inside the boot of
the deceased's Vehicle, threw him off by the roadside along Eastern Bypass,
around Bechi Village and left away with the motor vehicle, a Toyota Corolla,
2015 Model including his Mobile Phone.
"The suspect further confessed that what led to this regrettable
incident was after he deceitfully collected the sum of three million naira
(N3,000,000:00) from him on the pretext that he would secure a job offer for
him. But having realised that he had no means of returning the money to him he
hired two hefty guys, conspired with them killed him and hid the Motor Vehicle
at a Garage in Hotoro Quarters, Kano. The Vehicle has since been however
recovered by the Police.
"While the CP commiserate with the deceased family on this sad
development, the Commissioner of Police reaffirms the commitment of his Command
to combating crime in all its forms and to continue to work tirelessly in
protecting the lives and property of all Kano residents.
“Finally, the CP appreciates the good people of the State for their
cooperation and urge everyone to remain vigilant and keep reporting any
suspicious movement of person(s) or item(s) they come across to the nearest
Police Station or through the following Kano State Police Command emergency
contact numbers: - 08032419754, 08123821575, 09029292926.”
Meanwhile, speaking with the Daily Trust, Bello's brother said they were
aware that the deceased had a job deal with some people, and he was confident
of securing the offer.
“Bello was desperately looking for a Federal Inland Revenue Service job
offer. He was so hopeful. He was working with Kano Electricity Distribution
Company (KEDCO) and wanted to join FIRS. And somebody was soliciting the offer
for him," Abdullahi explained.
“When he received a phone call in relation to the job offer, he asked
his wife to bring his car key and went to the person waiting for him. Since then,
we never heard from him. “Since he did not return that Sunday. We decided to
track his calls. The last word of his conversation with the person on the other
end was Alhamdulillah. From this, we understood that he was lured into
believing that the offer was ready-made Abdullahi said the family members
searched for Bello endlessly, but they could not find him.
"We
went out in search for him from one mortuary to another: from one hospital to
another and from one police station to another. We went to every place we
thought corpses could be kept. Yet he was nowhere to be found. We returned home
weak.”
Abdullahi
said they thought their brother was kidnapped and were expecting the abductors
to demand a ransom. But nobody called them to do so.
"On
Monday we were at MTD Kano to track his last call again when we received a call
from somebody informing us that a corpse was found in Kumbotso LGA and was
taken to a police station; and later Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. It was our
brother’s corpse. He was gruesomely killed.“
"Tracking
testified that Bello’s last call was with Sadiq with whom he worked at KEDCO.
Based on a police investigation, Sadiq was found complicit. Sadiq later
confessed to killing Bello, even though the investigation is ongoing.
"His
car was later recovered, but his phones couldn’t be found. And Sadiq confessed
he participated in the killing of Bello. But we don’t know yet who are Sadiq’s
accomplices.”
On
Tuesday hundreds of relatives and well-wishers gathered at Gama B where Bello
was buried.
Abdullahi
said that the family members were in severe pain because Bello trusted
Sadiq.
"When
Sadiq was sacked from KEDCO, Bello called him back. And they worked together.
When Bello was promoted, he made sure Sadiq was reinstated. They worked
together until his death. We saw him as our brother’s confidant and
subordinate.
Sani
Bala, the spokesperson of KEDCO, who said that the news of the passing of Malam
Bello Bukar was tragic and shocking, saying the suspect was not their staff at
the time of the incident.
“It was very shocking and sad for the company. He was one of the most hardworking and dedicated staff in the company. Honestly the deceased and the suspect had a cordial working relationship, even though the suspect was not our staff at the time of the incident,” Bala added.
0 Comments