Passenger Kills Okada Rider, Demands Motorcycle Documents From Family

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 .