A notorious kidnapper, Hamisu Bala, also known as Wadume, was released from Kuje Prison in Abuja on Friday and welcomed with open arms by a large crowd in his hometown of Ibbi, Taraba State, on Sunday.
Wadume, who was arrested by the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police in 2019, was received by thousands of people, including youths and women, as he arrived in Ibbi through river Benue.
According to prison sources, Wadume had completed his jail sentence, which ran concurrently. A resident of Ibbi town, Musa Garba, said the town was at a standstill for Wadume, as the elderly and youths trooped out to receive him by the river side and from there he went through the town before retiring to his house.
Another resident, Nuhu, said the town was in a festive mood as Wadume regained his freedom and was now out of prison. Wadume visited the Chief of Ibbi chiefdom, Alhaji Salihu Danbawuro, at his palace to thank him and the entire people of his chiefdom for standing firmly with him and praying for his safety and good health while in prison.
Wadume’s arrest in 2019 was controversial as soldiers attacked the IRT team of the IGP squad that arrested him while on their way to Abuja. The soldiers, led by Tijjani Balarabe, were reported to have set Wadume free and subsequently killed some of the officers who arrested him. Three policemen and two civilians were killed during the incident, while five other police officers were injured.
The soldiers were questioned by a joint panel charged with probing the incident. In his statement to the joint investigation panel, Balarabe reportedly confessed to using a spoon to open the handcuffs and taking Wadume to his house while he went to Ibbi town with Saad to retrieve some rifles belonging to the IRT policemen.
Wadume was later rearrested two weeks after he was freed illegally. He was sentenced to seven years in jail by a Federal High Court in Abuja for escaping from lawful custody and unlawfully dealing in prohibited firearms. However, the prosecution failed to prove the charges of kidnapping against him.
Wadume is known for his charity in his hometown and contested for a seat in the Taraba State House of Assembly under the platform of the Young Democratic Party (YDP) in 2019. He later defected from the YDP to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The reception Wadume received in his hometown is similar to that of former Governor James Ibori of Delta State. In 2017, Ibori returned home after serving a 4-year jail term in a UK prison, and a mammoth crowd welcomed him to Oghara, his hometown in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta.
