A Chief Magistrate Court in Minna, Niger State, presided over by Hajiya Fati Hassan Umar, has sentenced 35-year-old ex-convict Bala Mohammed to four years in prison.
The court found him guilty of conspiracy, attempted kidnapping, and criminal intimidation.
According to police prosecutor Sgt. Abdullahi Usman, the charges were in violation of sections 3(1), 3(3), and 397 of the Kidnapping and Cattle Rustling Law of Niger State, 2016, as well as the Penal Code.
The case was brought to court by the State Criminal Investigation Department’s (SCID) Anti-Kidnapping Squad.
The arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by Alhaji Sardauna Abdullahi of Wawa village, Borgu Local Government Area. On August 7, 2024, Abdullahi received a threatening call from an unknown individual using GSM Number 09167577960, demanding a ransom of N3 million.
The caller warned that failure to pay would result in Abdullahi’s kidnapping and death.
“After a series of negotiations, the unknown caller later agreed to collect the sum of N500,000. Police detectives and a vigilante group swung into action and arrested you, Bala Mohammed, of Wawa village in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, in the process of collecting the ransom.
“During the police investigation, you, Bala Mohammed, confessed to conspiring with one Idris (surname unknown) of Nasarawa State, who is now at large, and whom you met while serving your jail term at Minna Old Correctional Centre. You provided the complainant with a phone number that you called and threatened him.”
When the charges were read to the convict by the presiding Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Fati Hassan Umar, he pleaded guilty to the three counts.
At this point, the police prosecutor, Sgt. Usman Abdullahi, told the court to convict and sentence the accused person summarily in accordance with the provisions of Section 190 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) Niger State 2023.
While passing her verdict, the presiding Chief Magistrate described the convict as an unrepentant criminal, which made her doubt his conscience.
“The convict, however, pleaded for leniency, but in the First Information Report (FIR) before the court, it was stated that the convict had served a jail term at Old Minna Prison, which makes me doubt his conscience and leads me to regard him as a person of questionable character.”
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