Tricycle operator arrested over kidnap

A tricycle operator escaped lynching at the weekend when residents of Gado Kaya area of Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State pounced on him for allegedly kidnapping five children.

Daily Trust gathered that the tricycle operator was arrested with five children around 8pm on Friday when the residents were returning from mosque. It was further gathered that the children were not fully clothed.

A witness said the way the children were shouting in the tricycle created the suspicion.

“We were at the Sheikh Jafar’s mosque when the news reached us and we ran out and arrested the man. He was taken to the Gwale police station with the children,” the witness who simply identified himself as Mohammed said.

When contacted, spokesperson of the Kano police command, ASP Magaji Musa Majia, confirmed the report, but added that the man was not a kidnapper.

“The man is not a kidnapper as being speculated. When he returned from work, his children jumped into his tricycle and he decided to take them round their neighbourhood. It was while they were going round that the people pounced on him,” he said.

He said police invited the children’s mother and their neighbours, who identified the man as their father.

He commended the residents for the vigilance and urged them to always report any suspicious person or object to the nearest police station for prompt action.