Court remands 4 herdsmen over kidnapping

A chief magistrate court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday ordered that four herdsmen be remanded at Abolongo Correctional Centre, Oyo town, over kidnapping. The suspects who are standing trial on three count charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, and demanding ransom are; Ibrahim Ahmadu, 20, Mohammadu Dariya, 28, Shehu Usman, 23 and Abubakar […]

A chief magistrate court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday ordered that four herdsmen be remanded at Abolongo Correctional Centre, Oyo town, over kidnapping.

The suspects who are standing trial on three count charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, and demanding ransom are; Ibrahim Ahmadu, 20, Mohammadu Dariya, 28, Shehu Usman, 23 and Abubakar Siddi, 25.

The magistrate, who refused to take their plea, said the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter but ordered their remand.

He directed the prosecutor to return the case file to the Oyo State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Inspector Opeyemi Olagunju, told the court that the suspects and others at large kidnapped one Abubakar Shehu at about 1am on July 7, 2021 from his father’s camp for the purpose of collecting ransom.

He said the suspects demanded N30 million ransom from the victim’s father, Shehu Umaru, adding that the offence contravened the provisions of section 3  (1) (2) and punishable under section 4 (2), 10 of the Oyo State Kidnapping ( Prohibition ) Law 2016.

The case was adjourned until October 25, 2021 for mention.