The police have arrested a suspected bandit kingpin linked with a Catholic Church attack and the killing of a Seminarian, – Stephen Naaman – in the Zangon Kataf area of Kaduna State.
The Kaduna State Police Command said it arrested the suspected mastermind of the September 2023, burning of Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church at Fadan Kamanta, during which the Seminarian was killed.
According to the spokesman of the Kaduna Police Command Mansir Hassan, the suspect – Yakubu Saidu – was arrested on Thursday by police operatives at Zangon Urban.
The police said the suspect also confessed to his involvement in the attack and the killing of the Seminarian, adding that one of his gang members – from Fadan Kamanta – facilitated the assault, after which he fled.
His arrest comes about seven months after bandits attacked the church’s rectory and killed Stephen. They also set the parish house ablaze after a failed attempt to abduct two priests working in the parish.
Kaduna is one of the states worst hit by banditry in the country, and has in recent years witnessed attacks on religious centres and public places among others.
In 2022, they attacked the Kaduna-Abuja rail line, killing some and injuring others.
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