Four herders identified as Haruna Haruna, Hassan Abubakar, Husseni Musa and Mohammed Abubakar on Tuesday August 18, appeared before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Makurdi on charges of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and acts of terrorism.
Prosecution counsel Hyacinth Gbakor who revealed that the case was transferred from the Area Command Headquarters, Otukpo for further investigation, said a team of policemen acting on a tip-off on July 8, arrested the defendants for unleashing mayhem on the people of Benue South.
The defendants were accused of kidnapping one Charles Ochapa of Ado Local Government on May 16 and collecting a ransom of N400,000 before releasing him. They reportedy confessed to the crime and N300,000 was recovered from them.
Chief Magistrate, Mr Isaac Ajim granted the defendants bail after they pleaded not guilty to the charges and subsequently adjourned the case until October 12, 2020 for further mention.
