By Danzumi Ishaku.
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state has denied ever playing into the antiques of the suspected kidnap kingpin Hamisu Bala. In a statement made available to journalists by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on media and publicity, Bala Dan Habu said governor Ishaku has never paid or given such amount of money to Wadume.
“The attention of His Excellency, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku has been drawn to the claims by Hamisu Bala Wadume, a kidnap suspect currently under arrest to the effect that he duped him(the Governor) of Six Million Naira during his inglorious reign as a kidnapper. “We wish to state categorically that Gov Ishaku was never a victim of Wadume’s duplicity and never lost money to his antics.
“We urge the general public to discard and disregard Wadume’s confessions on the alleged defrauding of Gov Ishaku as the rantings of a drowning criminal, Gov Ishaku has never met the kidnap suspect and would not even recognize him if they were to meet today.
“Governor Ishaku would like to use this opportunity to commend security agencies for promptly arresting Wadume who is the reason behind the dastardly murder of three police officers and one other person in Ibi earlier this month.
“Ishaku urged security agencies to expand their dragnet to all nooks and corners of Taraba State where the accomplices of Wadume and other criminal gangs may still be hiding to arrest them and bring them to book.
Meanwhile the chairman All Progressive Congress Taraba state chapter Bar. Ibrahim Elsudi has said that the recent indictment by the suspected notorious kidnapper kingpin Hamisu Bala AKA Wandume that he received a sum of 6 million naira from Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state was a clear vindication of the APCs earlier stand that the governor has been harbouring criminals in the state.
Reports dominating national dailies last weekend have it that Wadume during interrogation by the IRT revealed that he received monies from some Political parties, he also revealed that he collected 6 million naira from Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state during the just concluded governorship election.
Speaking with Journalists, the chairman APC Taraba state Bar. Elsudi said his party had earlier accused the governor of empowering and arming criminals in Taraba state.
“The revelations by the suspected kidnapper kingpin Hamisu is a clear testimony of what we were constantly accusing the governor of doing during the recent general election. “We accused the governor of keeping so many criminals close to him, there is another one called Fuski, he enriched him with state resources, thank God all we have said has come to the limelight, I learnt that even Fuski has been arrested, more investigation should be done by the IRT to unravel those who have been behind criminality in Taraba state.
