The duo was among 31 suspects arrested for various forms of crimes by the Force Intelligence Bureau Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS) operatives.
The Nigerian police have announced the arrest of Aminu Lawal and Murtala Dawu, two kidnappers who allegedly masterminded the abduction of students of Greenfield University in Kaduna on April 20, 2021.
Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to him, the duo was among 31 suspects arrested for various forms of crimes by the Force Intelligence Bureau Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS) operatives.
The statement reads: "Prominent among the cases include a case of kidnapping where the duo of Aminu Lawal (aka Kano), and Murtala Dawu (aka Mugala), both working in synergy with the kidnap kingpin known as Yellow Ashana, confessed to the kidnap and murder of two police officers and one vigilante in 2021.
"They equally confessed to the kidnap of students from the Greenfield University in Kaduna State, and the mindless murder of five victims before the payment of ransom, and eventual release of the others. Intelligence shows that their area of operations include Dan Hunu, Kekebi, Dan Busha Rido, Maraban Rido, and Kumi Sata, all in Kaduna State.
"FIB-STS operatives caught up with them in March 2022, after being on their trail upon the mention of their names in connection to the kidnapping of Bethel Baptist School students in 2021."
It said, “The FIB-STS equally recovered a total of 61 firearms including 41 AK rifles, 8 Type 06 rifles, 4 Light Assault Rifles (LAR), 4 pump action guns, 2 locally made firearms, 1 G3 rifle, 1 Dane gun, 376 rounds of live ammunition of different calibres, and a cash sum of two million Naira, from the suspects in the course of investigations.”
The Greenfield University students were abducted on April 20 from their Kaduna campus after which three of them were killed by their kidnappers.
During the attack on the private university along the Kaduna- Abuja highway, a staff member of the school was also killed.
They were later released but about five of them were killed during the abduction.
Adejobi said all the suspects will be arraigned in court on the completion of investigations.