Anna Okon and Samson Folarin
An employee of Dangote Industries Limited, Istifanus Bello, has been killed by suspected kidnappers.
Sources told our correspondents that
Bello’s corpse was found in a gutter in Ogun State, adding that one of
the kidnappers alerted a member of the public to where the corpse was.
Bello was believed to have been kidnapped three weeks ago, but news of his murder got to his family members on Monday.
Sources close to the family told our correspondents that Bello was the company’s Human Resources Manager before his death.
learnt that on the
day that he was kidnapped, the manager had gone with a team to pay
ransom for the release of some expatriates who had been kidnapped.
It was learnt that on getting there, the kidnappers collected the money and abducted him.
A close friend, who pleaded not to be named, said Bello showed him some video recordings of his negotiations with kidnappers.
Speaking to sympathisers who visited her
on Monday, Bello’s wife of 20 years, Amina, said the husband was the
best, adding that he was a friend and father to their children.
She said, “Bello was a lovely person; if
he was not in the house one day, the children would be asking after him
endlessly. Now I do not know what to tell the children because he was
always chatting with them on the social media. When he was abducted,
the children asked me to tell them where he was because all his
activities on social media ceased and the children said it was unlike
him.
“On the 20th anniversary of our wedding,
he told me that I was the best woman, adding that I was the only one
who understood him. He has never for one day hurt me; he always said if I
was not happy, he would not be happy.”
A source in the Dangote Industries, who confirmed the kidnap, however, reacted to the news of Bello’s murder with surprise.
When contacted, the firm’s Head of
Media, Mr. Tony Chiejina, who said Bello was very close to him, also
reacted with surprise to the news of his death.
He told our correspondent that he would make some calls and get back.
He had yet to do so as of press time.
Bello’s lengthy profile on the professional network portal, Linkedin,
described him as the Human Resources Manager of Dangote Industries
Limited, a graduate from the University of Maiduguri and the Lagos State
University.
He said he was a member of the Chartered
Institute of Personnel Management and had a certificate in
International Negotiation from Bonn University, Australia. He added
that he was a former investigator with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement
Agency, among others.
He also described himself as “a very
versatile human asset who began his early career in criminal justice
administration in 1990 as a law enforcement officer.”
The Force Public Relations Officer,
Donald Awunah, confirmed the incident, adding that three of the
kidnappers had been arrested.
Awunah explained that the suspects were arrested in Ogun, Lagos and Kwara states, saying they confessed to the crime.
He said, “What happened was that five
expatriates of the company were kidnapped and the company went into
negotiation with the kidnappers.
“The victim was detailed to pay the ransom. The kidnappers, after taking the ransom, seized and killed him.
“They had demanded N100m, but they were paid N5.6m. So, it is probable that they were not satisfied with the money.
“Following the incident, the
Inspector-General of Police ordered the Critical Investigation Unit to
swing into action. The team was able to arrest the kidnappers and
recover the corpse of the deceased in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, where they
had their hideout.
“The three suspects –Abubakar Gide,
Abdulahi Saliu and Babuga Adamu – were arrested on November 27 and
December 3, 2016, at Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State; Epe, Lagos State, and Ajase
Forest, Kwara State. Three AK-47 rifles were recovered from them.”
Awunah urged members of the public to
exercise restraint in paying ransoms to kidnappers, adding that security
agencies should always be carried along during negotiation to avert
loss of lives..”
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