A Divisional Police Officer (DPO) has rejected one million Naira bribe offered him by a suspected bandit after his arrest at a hotel in Tafa community of Kaduna State.
The arrested bandit reportedly offered the bribe from of the ransom cash recovered from him by the police.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mansir Hassan, said the arrest was made on January 19, 2024.
According to him, the divisional headquarters received credible information regarding the presence of the suspected person at Easyway Hotel in Tafa town.
He explained that their operatives led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) stormed the hotel and arrested a certain 28-year-old Bello Muhammad from Zamfara State, and recovered the sum of N2,350,000 suspected to be proceeds of kidnapping.
He said during investigation, the suspect admitted to being a kidnapper who operates with his gang around Kagarko forest in Kaduna State.
ASP Mansir said the aforementioned sum was the suspect’s own share of a ransom collected, adding that a check of his mobile phone corroborated the suspect’s confession as pictures of him brandishing an AK47 rifle in a forest were retrieved.
“The said suspect Bello Muhammad thus offered a million Naira backhander to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) to stop him from furthering the investigation, which the police officer rejected. The investigation is still ongoing as the suspect is assisting the Police with vital information,” he added.
The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, CP A.D Ali, while praising the Tafa Division’s operatives, urged them and others not to dwindle but to increase the tempo until crimes and criminality are drastically reduced.
The CP tasked hoteliers, recreation, and leisure service operators in the State to always scrutinize their customers, to avoid providing criminals with a safe haven.