The Emir of Ibi, Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Salihu, visited his palace to pay homage after the release of convicted kidnapper mastermind Hamisu Bala (also known as Wadume) on Sunday, and collaborated with stakeholders to fight back. He said he promised to do so. Criminality.
Speaking on Monday, Salih said he believes the palace must accept him and take him on his word and that he will not return to his previous way of life.
“We hope he does not return to criminal activities. He came to the palace and pledged allegiance as a changed man. Even a repentant Boko Haram should not be allowed to reintegrate into the community. We must embrace him and take active steps to protect our communities.
“He came back as a repentant man. Remember, he belongs to this community, and in that incident, the name of our community was associated with the crime.
“As a person with many followers, we believe that upon reintegration, he will cooperate with security agencies and stakeholders to ensure peace in the community. Waru is not a hard-core criminal and has a questionable personality. However, the court was unable to convict him on some of the charges in his favor because the kidnapping issue was framed against him and even politics intervened.
“There will be a lot of discussion about his release and his welcome in town, but people change. It's usually disheartening to have a son or a subject labeled as a global criminal, but he “It's good that he's back after serving his sentence. We hope he can help change the name of our community,” he said.
According to reports, Wadume was released from a correctional center in Kuje on Friday by officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
He is said to have completed a seven-year sentence that was said to have been served concurrently.
On his arrival in Ibi, he was reportedly welcomed by a large crowd who had gathered to catch a glimpse of him.
He was arrested by members of the Inspector General of Police Information Response Team in 2019 but escaped amid controversial circumstances following a gunfight between policemen and soldiers attached to 93 Battalion, Ibi/Takum Street, Taraba State. did.
While the IRT team was taking him to Abuja, soldiers attacked them, killing three team members in the process.
He was then arrested by police detectives in Kano, tried, and eventually convicted and sent to prison.
