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SPECIAL REPORT: Man Escapes Death As Business Partner Allegedly Tries To Kill Him, Accuses Police Prosecutor Of Frustrating Attempted Murder Trial In Kano

SPECIAL REPORT: Man Escapes Death As Business Partner Allegedly Tries To Kill Him, Accuses Police Prosecutor Of Frustrating Attempted Murder Trial In Kano

People go into business with others expecting a level of trust and assurance that the collaboration would yield dividends. But this was not Eludire Isaac’s fate when he partnered one Usman Alhajiji.

This ill-fated business deal between the duo allegedly led to betrayal, fraud and an attempt on the life of one of the partners in a lonely bush at the dead of the night.

Mr Isaac reached out to Naija News revealing his battle with depression after failed attempts to recoup all he has lost and get justice for the attempt on his life.

While narrating what transpired between him and Usman, Isaac disclosed that he met Usman (who had been his business partner for four months before the unfortunate incident) in July 2021 in Sabon Gari Yaya, Taura LGA of Jigawa. This was where the accused was supposed to help him in purchasing paddy rice.

According to him, on getting to Usman’s village, he was introduced to his partner’s wife and brother, Abubakar Zangina. Zangina received the money for the 50 bags of paddy rice he purchased from different farmers.

Transactions to Zangina

Transactions to Zangina

Following his failure to deliver the rice to Kano, Usman, through his uncle, introduced him to one Alhaji Abubakar who was also planning to deliver 50 bags of rice to a company in Hadejia, Jigawa State. He said he then added his rice to that of Alhaji Abubakar, making 100 bags of rice which were to be delivered to Hadejia, Jigawa.

After the delivery and getting the weighbridge certificate, Isaac left Jigawa for his base on the 20th of July, 2021, hoping to be paid about N1 million. But this never happened.

Following a fruitless wait, he travelled to Kano on the 31st of July to meet with Alhaji Abubakar (Usman would join him in the state). But on getting to Kano and making moves, alongside Usman and his contact there to track Alhaji, the trio were told that Alhaji Abubakar was not in Kano that day but in Jigawa.

He said he returned to Jigawa (Sabon Gari Yaya) the next day – August 2nd – to track the evasive Alhaji Abubakar after many failed attempts to reach him on the phone. It was only another wasted effort, however Isaac then said that about 11pm, they found someone who could give them a number that connects to Alhaji. According to him, Usman also suggested bringing along one Alhassan Hussine who knows how to navigate the muddy roads to the person’s home.

When they got there, he said Usman and Hussine left him in the car to meet the said man that would give them Alhaji’s number and in a short time he (Isaac) had a nap in the car while they went in search of Abubakar’s number.

But he said: “Few minutes into my nap, I heard Usman and Alhassan back and I can tell that they didn’t know I locked the back door. So, I stretched my hand to help them open the door and in split seconds, I felt a rope on my neck. I looked up and saw Usman trying so hard to strangle me… My life flashed in my eyes, late in the middle of the night, in a silent bush, with two people whose minds were made up. You can imagine how helpless I was (I witnessed how someone you trust can in a split second turn to be the reason for your death. It was such a scary and horrible scene that keeps tormenting me!)

“Alhassan was behind me also. I tried wrestling the rope with Usman and that was when I heard him telling Alhassan in Hausa to hold my legs. Before Alhassan could turn and reach the front seat, I didn’t know how I wrestled Usman and I took off the rope on my neck. I got out of the car and ran inside the bush aimlessly. I lost my medicated eye glasses and my phone in the process.”

Further narrating his ordeal, he said he escaped that night after hiding in a tree for hours and returned to Gumel on the third of August. There, he purchased a small phone. He disguised and escaped to Kano State, saying that on the “5th of August I was able to make it to police state headquarters at Bompai in Kano. I wrote to the commissioner of police who later directed me to Assistant Inspector General of police (Zonal Headquarters Zone 1 BUK ROAD, Kano). From there, the case was attached to two IPOs and they started the process of arresting the culprit (Usman) and Alhassan (his accomplice).

After a month of spending money on tracking, logistics and welfare, he said police operatives arrested Alhassan Hussine and Abubakar Zangina, while Usman (a dismissed policeman) was said to be on the run.

Isaac, who claimed that Alhassan confessed about the attempt on his life, stated that the police forced him to feed the suspects in their custody. This, he was told, was the standard practice. He said while Alhassan was charged to court on four counts of attempted murder (culpable homicide), breach of trust and kidnapping, Zangina was released to guarantors with a promise to bring his brother, Usman, to the police and also pay N960,000 he invested in buying the paddy rice.

The court case, he explained, was attached to a prosecutor, Shu’aibu Musa, and a Magistrate Court at Gidan Murtala, precisely Court 60 in Kano. He said Alhassan was remanded in prison for one month but later released with no explanation from the prosecutor.

Isaac also revealed that “the family of Usman sent a representative to the Police Zonal Headquarters, Zone 1 BUK Road through someone that I was told is a personal aide to the former Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in that zone and he delivered N500,000 to the police and told them they will bring the remaining money and my damages”.  

He was later told that 10 percent of the money is going to the Court. Isaac said he was surprised that Alhassan and the prosecutor became so close that “I couldn’t differentiate if the prosecutor was working for me or with Alhassan”. 

He said before December, Usman’s family gave him an additional N200,000. That was how they started paying in bits of N50,000.

The victim told Naija News that since January, there have been multiple attempts to scuttle his attempts at seeking justice. There have been numerous adjournments and his prosecutor is not picking his calls, he claimed.

The truth is, I still have so much zeal and ambition to keep fighting for my right. I can’t go and do business and almost lose my life, my money and just walk away like that. I lost everything!” he lamented.

All the years of my labor; all the sweat, all the prayers. I just don’t know how to bring myself down to believe I will just lose everything.”

“I have not crossed the thin line between sanity and depression but if this continues, I don’t think I won’t cross the line. I’m only surviving on God’s hope to see me through.”

When Naija News reached out to Shauibu, the prosecutor, he simply told our correspondent that he should accompany Isaac to court and see for himself. He refused to further comment on the case.

Also, when Zangina was called and asked why he is yet to produce his brother, the suspect, he promised to get back to our correspondent after speaking with his father who he claimed had taken over the case on behalf of the family.

According to Zangina, his father was the one who paid some part of the money back to Isaac.

Naija News reached out to Zangina again after waiting for his call for days, he again promised to send our correspondent number to his father but this online newspaper is yet to receive any call from them as at the time of filing in this report.

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