Leading newspaper, ‘The Vanguard’, has called for the retrial of kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala, aka Madume, whom it described as murderous.
Established in 1984 by veteran journalist Sam Amuka-Pemu with three friends, ‘The Vanguard’ is one of Nigeria’s longest-surviving independent newspapers.
To the shock of many people and organisations, Madume was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, with the paper saying it is horrified by the court’s decision.
In an unusual editorial titled ‘Madume must be retried’, it avers:
“WE are shocked and horrified that murderous Taraba kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala(alias Wadume), was given only a seven-year jail term by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of the Abuja Federal High Court.
“Given the suspicious and seemingly conspiratorial circumstances of Wadume’s case, it is our firm view that justice has been miscarried, which is why we call for the complete retrial of this celebrated case.
“Wadume was renowned throughout Taraba State and beyond as a notorious billionaire kidnapper who sometimes allegedly killed his victims after collecting ransoms. He reportedly used the proceeds of his heinous crimes to finance armed herdsmen militias, including rogue soldiers who protected them.
“Former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, in August 2019, dispatched a crack team of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, to arrest Wadume. They successfully completed their assignment but were brutally murdered at a checkpoint on the Ibi-Wukari road by some soldiers of the 93 Battalion led by Captain Tijani Balarabe who freed the kidnapper. The heroic police officers were Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeant Usman Azumi and Sergeant Dahiru Musa. Two other civilians with them were also killed.”
The paper hopes that what it believes to be deserved justice might be long in coming, the future must still take care of it:
“We see a high-level conspiracy to derail the course of justice. We demand justice for the slain policemen and civilians. Wadume and his accomplices must be retried, and Captain Balarabe arraigned.
“If they escape justice under the Buhari regime, the next government must serve justice.”
