A Magistrates’ Court in Minna on Friday ordered the remand in prison custody of one Mohammed Aliyu over alleged kidnapping.
Aliyu was docked on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, contrary to Sections 3(1) and 2(2) of Niger State kidnapping and cattle rustling law, 2016.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Aliyu Yakubu, told the court that the complainant, Jibrin Sani, of Ebbo village in Lapai Local Government Area, reported the matter at the police station on Dec. 28, 2018.
Yakubu said that the complainant had employed the accused to assist his son, Mohammed Sani, in rearing his cattle.
He said Aliyu and Sani had gone to the bush for grazing only for Aliyu to conspire with two other persons, now at large, to kidnap the complainant’s son.
According to him, the accused person and his accomplices were said to have reached out to the complainant demanding a ransom of N7 million but later settled for N200,000.
He said the accused was arrested when he came to collect the ransom at Sashi village.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.
The Magistrate, Mariam Kings, however, declined to take the accused plea on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Kings directed the prosecutor to forward the case file to the Department of Public Prosecution(DPP) for advice.
She adjourned the matter until Feb. 21. (NAN)
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