A robbery suspect who is also a serving inmate of Kaduna Prison identified as Bashir Ali has confessed to the Police how he sneaked out of prison to share the loots from a robbery he masterminded.
According to The Sun Newspaper, luck ran out on him when he was rearrested when as usual sneaked out to get proceed from a robbery
Below is the full report according to The Sun
An inmate of Kaduna Prison, Bashir Ali has confessed to the police how he managed to sneak out of the prison for days just to collect his share from a robbery incident that took place in Kano.
Ali whose mother is from Tokyo, Japan, was arrested alongside some of his gang members identified as Umaru Inusa, Ahmed Kamalu, Adamu Danjuma and Barfa Ahmad by detectives attached to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Special Tactical Squad (STS).
On his arrest, police sources said that sometime in June, a gang of robbers invaded Kofaruwa quarters in Kano and robbed about three houses. They stole a Toyota Matrix car and several valuables, which include laptops, television sets, phones and money.
The victims alerted the operatives of STS while the officer in-charge of the squad, ACP Yusuf Kolo deployed detectives to fish out the gang members. In the course of investigation, they arrested some of the gang members and recovered the car and some other valuables that they were yet to dispose.
It was in the process of further investigation that detectives discovered that one of the masterminds of the robbery, Bashir Ali was in Kaduna prison. Unknown to him (Ali), some of his gang members had been arrested by the police. Hoping that it was business as usual, Ali sneaked out of the prison to collect his share from the proceeds of the robbery when policemen who were on his trail arrested him.
Journey to prison
At the police station, Ali who speaks impeccable English said it was greed that landed him in prison as he is from a good home. “I am an indigene of Kano State and my mother is from Tokyo. She came to Kano with her parents who were traders. In the process, she (Ali’s mother) fell in love with my father and I am a proud product of that love. I am married and I have three kids. I have no reason to commit crime because I also have an option of travelling to Tokyo if I was not satisfied with my financial status in Nigeria.”
On his journey to Kano Central prison, Karaumawa, Ali recalled that sometime in 2010, he got involved in a shady business, which led to the sale of a property in Kano that belongs to one of his friends.
“Boys were broke so we were looking for every possible means to make money. So my friend Ahmed who just lost his father then told me that he wanted to sell one of his father’s houses without the consent of the family. He said that since he was also part of the family that no one will question his decision. We got several estate agents involved and finally sold it for N8million.
“Unfortunately, when the buyer wanted to take possession of the property, the family members refused insisting that they never consented to it and that the documents presented were stolen.
We were arrested same year and charged to court. I was sentenced to seven years jail in 2015 after awaiting trial for two years.”
The stunt
After several years, Ali claimed that he was able to convince the prison warders that he had truly repented of his sins and was ready to be rehabilitated.
According to him, eleven of them were selected and transferred to Kaduna rehabilitation prison popularly known as Open Camp.
“I was lucky that they selected me in 2015. When we got to the camp, I chose to be a farmer where I learnt how to cultivate vegetables including curry leaves and waterleaves. The proceeds you get from the farm will be saved for you so that when you finish your stay in the prison, you will have money to start a new life.
In that prison you are free to roam around and sneak in and out of the yard unnoticed. The rule was that you must come for head count every 10am, 12pm, 2am and 6pm. So if you don’t want to get into trouble, wherever you go, you must return for head count.”
He also alleged that the prison warders who were taking care of them were aware of these movements and normally keep tab on them. “It is a game of trust. The warder must approve of your movement so that if you mistakenly fail to return on time, he will give you a number in absence. We all have phones and whenever you cannot make it back on time, you will call the warder and tell him. It is also your responsibility to ensure that the warder is well taken care of financially so that he can cover for you in case you want to travel and spend some days outside.”
On his arrest, Ali lamented that while in Kano prison, he made a lot friends who have served out their jail terms. He collected most of their numbers and agreed to exchange ideas.
“It is good to make friends so that when they leave, they will help with money. Most of them who left went back to crime and normally send money to us.
“So while in Kaduna prison, one of them contacted me that they were broke and needed any means of making quick money. It was during the Ramadan fast and everyone needed money to celebrate after the fasting. I gave them some ideas and people to meet. At the end of the robbery operation, they cheated me and hid the physical cash that they got. Luckily, Bawa kept one of the cars for me. I then referred them to an ex-convict who is into buying stolen cars.
They were on their way to deliver the car and money when police caught them. They were so wicked that they did not alert me that they had been caught. Rather, they called to tell me that the car had been sold that I should come to Zaria and collect my share.
“Few days to Sallah, I told the yard master popularly known as Baba Kubo and he granted me some days to travel. He knows that I will always come back, that was why he agreed. So around 12pm that day I left for Kano where they were supposed to wait for me. Because I did not have much money, I visited some of my friends in town and got some money before I proceeded to the agreed location. It was there that police arrested me,” he said.
Read more of this incredible confession from The Sun
No comments