Posted by By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
The District Head (Hakimi) of Furi-furi in Zamfara State, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim (alias councilor), has been arrested by police in Kaduna for allegedly running a syndicate that specialises in receiving stolen vehicles.
The District Head (Hakimi) of Furi-furi in Zamfara State, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim (alias councilor), has been arrested by police in Kaduna for allegedly running a syndicate that specialises in receiving stolen vehicles.
For Bala, the will of fortune turned full circle last week when men of the Special Task Force on Car Theft swooped on him at his Furi-furi residence. Promptly, they handcuffed him preparatory to taking him away for a thorough search of his numerous hideouts in Lagos, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Abuja, and Minna among other states.
The suspect is believed to be the custodian of Sharia - the Islamic legal code - in Furi-furi district. His arrest was the climax of a manhunt that began 22 years ago.
Now 52, Bala flew into police net as he reportedly made to escape, apparently responding to a tip off that operatives of the Special Task Force on Car Theft from Kaduna State Police Command were already closing in on him.
Officer-in-Charge of the Kaduna State Police Command Special Task Force on Theft of Vehicles, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman (DSP) told Sunday Sun that Bala's arrest represented a major breakthrough in the fight against Car Theft in the country.
'I have been looking for Bala, the District Head, since 1983 when I was a Corporal. I have been looking for him on allegation of receiving stolen vehicles. That was when I was in Bauchi. I moved to Lagos and, any car thief you arrest also mentioned Bala's name.
'Then I was posted to Ogun State as the Officer-in-Charge of Car Theft. I looked for him. I went to his village. He ran away. As God will have it, I got him this year in his house in Furi-furi, Zamfara State as a DSP.
'As at now, not the previous ones, we are looking for six vehicles from him. I have recovered one. The remaining five is in Maiduguri. We know the location and we are bringing them. He has his own receivers. What he does is, drive the vehicle to his people in Maiduguri, Sokoto and other places and then go home to wait for them to sell and bring him the money. Right now, there is one he has taken to Sokoto for sale and we are going to recover it", Alhaji Ibrahim Usman said.
Two car snatchers, Sunday Bala and Ali Baba who were paraded in Kaduna Thursday told Sunday Sun that they actually stole the vehicles they sold to the District Head adding that he (District Head) 'knew that we used to steal the vehicles".
Bala Ibrahim's sweat-soaked face bore the horizontal furrow of sorrow as he was led away in handcuff. Disoriented and distraught, his usual dignified bearing and exaggerated swagger had given way to a nervous shuffle.
For the notorious receiver, his current encounter with the law marks an inglorious end of the road. Expectedly, the Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. John Hamza Ahmadu, said he would be prosecuted. He also said that 17 vehicles had been recovered adding that some of the victims had already identified their vehicles.