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.
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