How jealous man planned half-brother’s kidnap

LEAD

.Kills 7-yr-old nephew

.Gets N200, 000 from N1m ransom paid to secure brother’s release

Haruna Salahatu, 30, has narrated how he planned and perfected the kidnap of his half-brother, Haruna Yakubu, 40, and the killing of his seven-year-old son, in Chiaoro Village, Bingiyaro in Kaduna State.

It was learnt that both siblings farmed as means of livelihood. While Salahatu, a tomato farmer struggled to earn a living, Yakubu excelled as a maize farmer.

The wealthy Yakubu built houses and was well respected in their community, a development which triggered hate, resentment and jealousy on the part of Salahatu.

In what he described as a bid to get a share from his brother’s wealth, Salahatu had connived with five of his friends, Yakubu Isa, Musa Umaru, Julie, Usman and Ikria to kidnap Yakubu.

The six man gang struck in January, kidnapped Yakubu, in a bloody operation.

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Yakubu was held for 10 days before his family, who did not know his half-brother was the brain behind his kidnap, paid N1 million ransom to secure his release.

Three suspects, who were recently arrested by operative of the Inspector- General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), confessed to the crime.

According to Salahatu, who claimed poverty and inability to feed his nine children and wives led him into the crime, he got only N200, 000 from the said loot.

Narrating his role, Salahatu said: “Yakubu is my elder brother. We are from same father but different mothers. I am married to two wives and I have nine children. I am farmer and I also sell tomatoes as a businessman. My father is alive and he is blessed with 12 children. My brother Yakubu Haruna, is a famer and he cultivates maize. My brother is the first child of my father.

“My elder brother built his own house and he has only eight children, while the house I reside in was built by my father. I wasn’t angry with my elder brother, but I staged his kidnap because I have no food to feed my nine children and my wives. I equally do not have enough money to spend as a man and I was too ashamed to go and beg my brother for money because there is sort of rivalry between my wives and my brother’s wives. 

“Since we live in the same compound, I have been monitoring my brother to know when he has much money with him.  I then invited three of my friends, Julie, Usman and Ikira, who I could trust, and told them that I had no money and that my brother does and I would like to stage his kidnap. They all agreed to the plan, then Ikira brought an AK-47 and we also agreed that on the day they will strike I will point the house for them.

“On that night they came, I did as we planned, but the moment they broke his door, my brother’s seven-year-old son ran out of the house to know what was happening and Ikira shot him on the head and the boy died on the spot. Julie, Usman and Ikria, took my brother away into the bush in Sabo-Bingiga, and the someone in the house started shouting, people started coming out with touch light to know what was going on.

“Then I went after my brother’s son discovered he was dead and I started crying. We took his dead body into the house. Our father came to inspect what had happened and he asked that we should go and bury the boy in the morning which we did. A search party was not formed for my brother because everyone was overwhelmed with the killing of my brother’s son. ”

Speaking further on how he spent his loot, he said: “Then the kidnappers contacted one of my uncles and they got the number from my elder brother, eight days after the kidnapping and they demanded for N3 million as ransom and we negotiated and brought it down to N1 million. One of our relatives known as Musa was the person that took the N1 million ransom to the kidnappers and my brother was released 10 days after captivity.  

“Four days later, one of the kidnappers, Usman brought my share of the ransom, N200, 000, to my house. I gave N20, 000 to Isa and Umaru because they knew about the operation and they were also the people that kept the guns for the kidnappers before they struck. I used N80, 000 to cultivate tomatoes, which was destroyed by the flood and I bought a land with N100, 000.

“The incident occurred four months ago, and until my arrest, my family members were not aware that I masterminded the kidnapping of my elder brother and killing of his son. I feel serious pain over my actions. I got my innocent nephew killed. I just think it is my nephew’s destiny that he will die young and my brother kidnapped. All I want is a second chance to get things right”.

Making confessional statement, the 35-year-old Isa said he had warmed Salahatu against the criminal act, but his warning fell on deaf ears.

Isa said: “I have two wives and six children. I am a farmer and I am a tomato trader. I reside in Chiaoro and Salahatu is my friend and we both trade on tomato together. He had once told me that he wanted to kidnap his elder brother, and I tried to convince him not to do it.  But Salahatu told me that he had already perfected plans with people who will carry out the kidnapping.

“So I left the case like that because I didn’t want to betray our friendship. So two days before the kidnapping, Salahatu brought an AK-47 rifle to me and asked me to keep the gun for him. On the night they needed the rifle for operation, the kidnappers came and collected the gun, which they used for the operation. I felt so sad, when I heard that the seven-year-old boy was killed.”

He lamented, saying: “I feel guilty that I didn’t raise an alarm that could have saved the life of the innocent boy. God would have blessed me for saving the life of the innocent boy and all I got was just N10, 000.”