Gist
Drama As Convicted Kidnap Kingpin, Wadume Receives Heroic Welcome In Taraba
A convicted kidnap, Hamisu Bala, better known as Wadume, on Sunday, received a heroic welcome at his hometown of Ibbi in Taraba State after serving his jail term for kidnapping.
Naija News gathered that a large crowd of women and children trooped out to welcome the convicted kidnapper back to his hometown after he was released from Kuje Prison in Abuja, on Friday.
Sources told Daily Trust that Wadume had concluded his jail sentence which ran concurrently and was ferried into Ibbi through river Benue, where he was received by thousands of people, including youths and women.
After arriving in the town, Wadumi visited the Chief of Ibbi chiefdom, Alhaji Salihu Danbawuro, at his palace.
Wadume told the chief that he was at the palace to thank him and the entire people of his chiefdom.
He said through out his trial, the chief and his subjects stood firmly with him and prayed for his safety and good health while in prison.
The chief, Saliha Danbawuro, told Wadume that he and his subjects were happy that he is out of prison.
“I and the entire people of Ibbi chiefdom are happy that Hamisu Wadume is now back in Ibbi his home town.” the chief said.
Recall Wadume was arrested by men of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector-General of Police, in 2019, led by the now-suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari,
During the attempt to arrest him in 2019 by the IRT over alleged kidnapping, he had enlisted the help of a Captain of the Nigerian Army, who aided his escape from Police custody when the van of the IRT was stopped at a military checkpoint by gunfire and labelled as kidnappers instead, who had attempted at kidnapping Wadume.
Residents of Ibbi town consequently pounced on the Policemen for daring to kidnap their ‘saviour’, killing about three of the elite Policemen, a development that attracted national attention to the ugly incident.
Wadume then went into hiding there for days before the IRT team smoked him out from his hideout in the Kano metropolis of Kano State.