Troops from 93 Battalion under 6 Bridget of the Nigerian Army have apprehended a suspected female kidnapper while trying to pick ransom in Taraba State.
According to Lieutenant Oni Olubodunde, spokesperson of the Bridget, the troops also apprehended a notorious gunrunner dealing in arms and ammunition and supplying them to criminals within Taraba State and other parts of the country.
The female suspect, it was learnt, was married to a notorious criminal who is the second-in-command to late Hana Terwase.
The spokesperson stated that the troops were working on credible intelligence on the activities of the arms dealer, Joshua Dutse Idah, 45.
He further explained, “the troops had trailed the suspect, leading to his arrest in Ibbi town of Ibbi Local Government Area of the state while he was driving to Kaduna State in a blue Volkswagen Sharon vehicle with registration number Rivers SKN-390AA.”
Olubodunde added that on interrogation, Dutse confessed that he was going to Katsina State to bring AK-47 rifles for which he received part payment of N300,000, adding that after a thorough search on the vehicle, troops recovered 1 PK machine gun, 399 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition and 3 AK-47 rifle magazines.
Olubodunde disclosed that a female suspected kidnapper named Janet Igohia, 31, was also arrested after picking up the sum of N1.5million, being ransom payment for an abducted victim at Chanchangi area in Takum LGA of the state.
He explained that lgohia revealed that she was married to Voryor Gata, a notorious criminal and former second-in-command to the late Gana Terwase.
He said that she is currently married to the leader of a violent extremist group in southern Taraba and had previously been married to high profile criminals, such as late Terkibi Gemaga aka Mopol, a notorious kidnapper who was killed by troops five years ago.
She also revealed that she got married to late Gana Terwase, another notorious criminal who was killed during a joint special force operation three years ago.
Lieutenant Olubodunde said that the troops deployed in Mararaba Baissa community of Donga LGA arrested two other suspected gunrunners that were allegedly involved in extra-judicial killings and cattle rustling with the sum of N600, 000.
He gave the names of the suspects as Alhaji Adamu Damisa (40 years old) and Usman Isah (44 years old).
