The solider said he only had contact with one of the other suspects.
The Department of State Security Service, SSS, on Tuesday in Abuja paraded an Airforce Lance Corporal, Suleiman Mohammed, and six others for alleged kidnap of one Abu Dankure. The suspects were paraded at the SSS headquarters in Abuja.
The others paraded were 31-year-old Mustapha Isah, aka Chief Coordinator; Mohamed Abubakar, Faruku Waziri, Mohammed Bukar, Usman Idah, and Abdullahi Musa.
The victim, a Sokoto-based businessman, was kidnapped at his construction site in Kofar Kwari, Sokoto on November 6, the SSS said.
Mr. Dankure was released on November 11 after a $290, 000 (N45 million) ransom was paid to his abductors. He, however, died 11 days later.
Mr. Isah, who said he got N2.2 million from the ransom, said he left Sokoto two days after the kidnap of Mr. Dankure to negotiate with the family of the victim. He said he rented a three-bedroom apartment at Mabera, Sokoto, where they plotted and detained Mr. Dankure.
He said that on November 11, when he received the ransom at Kwali area of the Federal Capital Territory, he ordered Mr. Bukar, the chief custodian of the victim, to release him.
He also denied torturing or feeding Mr. Dankure with any kind of food that could have led to his death.
The Airforce official, Mr. Mohammed, however, denied having links with the kidnappers. He told journalists that he met Mr. Musa, a friend to his cousin, when he sold a Samsung galaxy Note 2 to him.
He also said he travelled to Kaduna twice to collect money for the phone: N45, 000 and N20, 000 respectively.
While he denied supplying guns to the others, he said Mr. Musa only asked him if he had an idea on how he could acquire guns, to which he replied that he does not deal in guns but could ask his uncle in Jos, Yakubu Mohammed, who deals in guns.
He said he also told Mr. Musa that two Ak47 riffles would cost him N500, 000.
“I am not working with any of them, I don’t supply riffle to them. Abdullahi asked me if I can get riffle to them, I told him I don’t sell but can ask my uncle in Jos,” Mr. Mohammed said.
Mr. Musa, 45, is an indigene of Mallam-Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State and was convicted of car theft in 2008. He served a six-year jail term in Kuje prison.
The kidnap kingpin also confessed to being a member of a car- snatching syndicate operating in Rivers, Edo, Kogi, Abuja, among others states.
While other members of the gang denied knowing or having contact with Mr. Mohammed, Mr. Musa insisted that the soldier promised to procure two pistols at N500, 000 for his friend Ali.
Doyin Adetuberu, who represented the SSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, said the gang will be charged to court soon.
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