The Chief of Ibi in Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Salihu, has said the convicted kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (aka Wadume), came to the palace to pay homage after his release from prison on Sunday and pledged to work with relevant stakeholders to fight against criminality.
Salihu, speaking on Monday, said the palace had to accept him and take him by his words, believing that he would not go back to his old lifestyle.
“We are hoping that he will not go back to criminality. He came to the palace and pledged his loyalty as a changed person. Even repented Boko Haram are allowed to reintegrate into the community, so we have to accept him and take proactive steps to secure our community.
“He is back as a repented person and remember, he belongs to this community and the name of our community was associated with criminality during that incident.
“As someone who has a lot of followers, we believe that by re-integrating, he will work with security agencies and stakeholders to ensure the peace of the community. Wadume was not a hardened criminal, but someone with dubious character, but the issue of kidnapping was framed against him and even politics came in, that was why the court could not convict him on some of the charges that were preferred against him.
“There will be a lot of talks around his release and his reception in the town, but people do change. It is usually disheartening to have a son or subject tagged as a global criminal and it’s good he is back, after serving his jail term. We hope that he will help rebrand the name of our community,” he said.
Wadume was released on Friday by officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service from its Correctional Centre in Kuje, according to reports.
He was said to have completed his seven-year prison term which is said to have run concurrently.
On arrival in Ibi, he was reportedly welcomed by a large crowd who trooped out to catch a glimpse of him.
He was arrested by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police in 2019 but escaped in a controversial circumstance after an exchange in a gun battle between policemen and soldiers attached to 93 Battalion Ibi/Takum Road in Taraba State.
The IRT team was taking him to Abuja when the soldiers attacked them, killing three of the team members in the process.
He was later arrested in Kano by police detectives and put on trial and eventually convicted and sent to prison.
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