Nigeria: Wadume Scandal

25 August 2019
opinion

The re-arrest of Taraba-based Hamisu Bala Wadume, a suspected notorious kidnapper, by the police last week came as a welcome relief to the nation, but his confessions have held Nigeria spellbound. His graphic account of how the military killed three policemen and two civilians, and wounded five other police officers, in order to set him free has unsettled Nigerians. It is difficult to believe that military personnel, who should prevent crime, would rather waste the lives of highly-trained police officers in order to rescue a suspected serial kidnapper, gun runner and fugitive.

Part of his confession reads: "The police came to arrest me. When they arrested me, the army chased after them and opened fire. From there, they (soldiers) took me to their headquarters and cut off my handcuffs and released me. I went back to my house, but the police came to re-arrest me." Wadume, in this statement, referred to troops attached to 93 Battalion, Takum, who aided his escape on August 6. He was re-arrested two weeks after.

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