Baby found; Albion in man in custody

ALBION, Mich. (WOOD) - Authorities in Illinois have found the 46-year-old man who allegedly kidnapped his wife's 6-week old daughter.

Police in Gibson City, Illinois located Luqman Abdul Bari and Nahla Maylee Johnson Friday evening.

The little girl, who is fine, was taken to a Gibson City hospital to be checked out. Authorities are working to reunite the baby with her mother.

Bari is in police custody. An arrest warrant for kidnapping charges was authorized by Calhoun County prosecutors for Bari late Friday afternoon.

Bari was thought to have taken Nahla either Thursday night or Friday morning. She will be 6 weeks old on Saturday.

Nahla's mom, Nicole Johnson, called police around 9 a.m. Friday when she woke up and found her child, her car, some money and Bari were gone.   She believes he left late Thursday night or early Friday morning. She said Bari had visited the home to visit Nahla and her other child -- a visit she now calls a mistake.  

"He had threatened to take her before but I never thought he would do it," said Johnson.

Chief Scott Kipp of the Albion Department of Public Safety told 24 Hour News 8 his department was contacted Friday after a man matching Bari's description with a small child showed up to a Gibson City hospital at around 1:30 p.m..

The man said the child wasn't eating properly, but got nervous while he was waiting to see a doctor so left before the child could be attended to. Hospital staff got suspicious and ran the license plate of the car he had been driving, and it matched the plate of the vehicle Bari was last seen in. Authorities were worried that Nahla may have needed medical care she wasn't getting.

Nicole Johnson told 24 Hour News 8 that Nahla had been having trouble digesting different types of formula and she had been trying different kinds. She said she never thought Bari would hurt her child -- but she never thought he would abduct her either. Johnson said she was terrified of Bari. She asked that people not be afraid of his large frame -- Bari is 6-feet-7 and weighs 310 pounds -- and call police.

"I just want my baby back I want her back safely," Johnson told 24 Hour News 8 on Friday, before Nahla was found. She said she didn't care what happens to Bari.

"They can put him on top of the jail, under the jail. I just want my baby back."

Johnson is married to Bari, but she said she does not know if he is the father. She told 24 Hour News 8 their marriage of several years has been strained for some time. She said Bari did not live in the home with her and Nahla and does not know he may not be the father. Bari is not listed on Nahla's birth certificate.

There was a domestic violence case on file with the Albion Department of Public Safety for an incident that happened earlier this month. 24 Hour News 8 obtained a copy of the police report which said Johnson called 911 and said Bari had pushed her up against a wall and ordered her not to remove Nahla from the home.  

The report said Bari claimed Johnson is suffering from post-partum depression and that he "feared for the baby's safety" if her mom left with her. The report states Bari admitted to pushing her up against a wall. He was arrested on domestic assault charges -- the first such charges to be filed against him. He has an August 8 court date on that charge.

24 Hour News 8 asked Johnson about the allegation, and she said she had been seeing a doctor and dealing with any problems related to her recent delivery. She said she would never hurt her child and Bari knows that.  

In an interview with 24 Hour News 8, she said Bari does not have a job nor any money. The only things he took for the baby were diapers and one can of formula.

"He's not going to get far on that for her," she said.