News

Passenger kills okada rider, demands motorcycle documents from family

Published

5 years ago

March 2, 2019

Mohammed Baba , a commercial motorcycle rider in the Bida area of Niger State , has met his untimely death in the hands of his passenger , one Isah Hassan .
Hassan reportedly killed Baba , buried him and fled with his newly bought motorcycle and mobile phone.

Not done , Hassan was said to have checked Baba ’ s phone for the contacts of his relatives . He reportedly disguised as a policeman and called the relatives , telling them that the victim had been arrested at Police A Division , Bida , for hitting a police van .

He reportedly asked the family to come with the documents of the motorcycle and he met with them outside the police station .

City Round learnt that Hassan asked them to submit the documents , but the family insisted that they would not release the documents until they saw Baba .

Sensing that his ploy could backfire, he reportedly asked them to come back the next day when “ his boss , ” whom he said would grant them access to Baba , would be around .

Our correspondent learnt the family realised the following day that they were being deceived after they met with a policeman at the station who told them that Hassan was an impostor .

It was gathered that the matter was consequently transferred to the Inspector -General of Police Intelligence Response Team and Hassan was tracked down.

“ Baba ’ s relatives were thrown into confusion when it became clear that Hassan wasn ’ t a policeman and the Niger State Command also confirmed that none of its men arrested a motorcyclist known as Mohammed Baba . The victim plied Bida -Minna routes . He went missing on October 10 , 2018 .

“ In January 2019 , Baba ’ s relatives wrote a petition to the Acting Inspector – General of Police, Mohammed Adamu . The IG directed IRT to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance. In the course of investigation , the number that was used to contact the family was traced to a man .

“ The man was arrested , but during interrogation it was discovered that he was a robbery victim. He narrated how Hassan robbed him of his phone and motorcycle and provided information which aided the operatives in apprehending the suspect, ” a police source disclosed to our correspondent .

In an interview with City Round during the week , Hassan , a native of Goga village in Bida , confessed to the crime , which he blamed on poverty .

The 33 – year – old father of two said while he was working as a truck driver at a haulage company , he ran into debt and had difficulty repaying it .

He stated, “ I worked with a haulage company that transports goods from Niger to Lagos State and earned N 18 , 000 every month . Sometime last year , I had a problem at my workplace and I started riding motorcycle in Lagos . I bought the motorcycle under a hire purchase agreement . One of my friends , Yahaya , who I met in Idi – Araba area of Lagos stood as a guarantor for me and I was repaying N 10 , 000 every week .

“ After I paid six times , one of my children fell sick and I could not continue with the payment . I approached my guarantor and told him about the situation , but he did not listen to me. I ran away with the motorcycle and sold it . I used the money to treat my child in the village . Later on , I got another haulage job and I thought I would make enough money to pay back the man whose bike I sold to treat my child , but the job did not go the way I had hoped .

“ There was another man in my village whom I owed N 80 , 000. He started threatening to get the police to arrest me if I didn ’ t pay him his money . When his threats became too much , I relocated out of the village with my family and I got an accommodation in Bida town . ”

Hassan explained that he also approached a money lender for a loan to start a business when life became tougher for him and his family .

He said contrary to his expectation , he was lent N 10 , 000 from which an agent, who facilitated the loan , collected N 2 , 000 commission, adding that he was told to repay the debt with a 10 per cent interest within 10 weeks .

He said , “ After I left the place , I boarded a motorcycle and asked the rider to take me to several places . I paid him and collected his phone number with the promise that I would call him whenever I need him . Later that day , I called him and told him to take me to Chachar Road in Bida .

“ On getting to a spot on that road , I acted as if I was looking for the Imam in that area to give the parcel with me. I pretended to be calling and receiving directions from him . I forcibly collected the motorcycle and his phone from him and zoomed off. I took the bike to Kwara State , where I sold it for N 80 , 000. I sent N 30 , 000 to the man I owed in Lagos and I used the remaining N 50 , 000 to pay the man I owed in my village. ”

Hassan said he became broke again after a while and decided to hatch another plan, using the same tactics . This time , Baba was his victim .

He recalled , “ Baba met me at So Junction and I told him to take me to Lafiagi Road . On our way , I asked him to stop at a junction close to Airport Road and I pretended as if I was urinating . I picked up a stone and hid it inside my clothes . We continued the journey and on getting to a spot where there were no more houses , I hit his head with the stone.

“ He fell from the bike and started screaming . I hid somewhere for an hour until he died . I went to a nearby farm , dug the ground and buried him .

I then left with his bike and phone. Around 7 . 30 pm, Baba ’ s phone rang and when I picked it up , a woman asked where he was and why he had not come home . I told her he had been arrested by the police .

“ Baba ’ s bike was very new and I needed his original documents so I could sell it at a good price . I later called his family to bring the documents of his motorcycle to the police station with a sum of N 2 , 000 if they wanted him to be released on bail .

“ When they came the next day , I asked them to give me the documents but they refused and insisted to see him first . I told them my boss that would allow them to see Baba was not around and I asked them to come back the following day . I ran to Lagos and when they called me, I told them I was no longer handling the case and switched off my phone . ”

He said he procured fake documents in Lagos and returned to Bida to sell the motorcycle for N 170 , 000.

“ I have no intention of killing him . It was unfortunate that he died after I hit his head with a stone. I only wanted to make him unconscious so that I could steal his bike, ” he added .