Hang me to death in market square – Kidnap suspect pleads

A kidnap suspect, Anas Sa’idu, on Friday confessed to abducting and killing a teenager, and pleaded that he should be sentenced to death by hanging for the crime.

Anas, 22, had kidnapped 16-year old Tijjani Kabiru on January 9 in Kwanar Gwarmai, Kangora town of Bebeji Local Government Area of Kano State, police said.

It was gathered he had used a telephone to demand a ransom of N1.3 million and top-up airtime of N20 thousand from the victim’s father, Alhaji Kabiru.

However, he had killed his victim before demanding for the ransom cash, The Nation learnt.

Fielding questions from newsmen, the suspect said he killed the victim because he was confused about where to keep him.

The suspect led police detectives and a medical team to a farm in the bush, where he strangulated and buried him Tijani.

The decayed body of the victim was exhumed for examination and burial.

Speaking where the deceased body was exhumed, the suspect said he carried out the heinous act under the influence of drugs and Indian hemp.

Apparently feeling remorseful about his evil deed, he pleaded to be punished by death, by hanging him in his market square to serve as deterrent to other kidnap elements.

His words: “I have never carried out this kind of heinous act; it’s not my work. My appeal to the state government and everyone is that the court should sentence me to death by hanging in a public square.

“To the father of the deceased, my appeal is for him to forgive me. I live in the same area with the deceased’s family.

“I demanded for the sum of N1.3 million ransom but was not paid,” he said.

Police spokesman, Abdullahi Haruna, said, upon receiving report of the kidnaping of Tijjani, the Commissioner of Police Habu Sani deployed the Operation Puff Adder who arrested the culprit after two weeks of investigation.

Haruna said the suspect initially stirred a drama by giving the police two conditions: to pay him the ransom cash and free him, if he must provide his abductee.

“It turned out that he had killed the victim within one hour that he abducted the victim.

“He (suspect) however, later confessed and led us and a medical team to exhume the decayed body which will be examined before burial,” Haruna said.

Haruna, a DSP, said the suspect will be charged to court upon completion of investigation.