NIGERIA: Combined Forces Stormed Kidnappers’ Den, Arrest Nine

0
The police command in Ogun State in collaboration with local security outfits has apprehended nine suspected kidnappers from their hideout.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested on Sunday and they belonged to a “notorious kidnap syndicate terrorising residents of Ogun State”. 

Abimbola Oyeyemi, the command’s spokesman, said the syndicate operated along the Abeokuta-Ayetoro Road where many people had been kidnapped and made to pay ransoms in millions of naira.


Oyeyemi said a joint operation involving the police, local hunters, operatives of the So-safe Corps, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Amotekun Corps and local vigilantes discovered the hideout and made the arrest, Daily Post reports. 

Oyeyemi identified the suspects as Hammed Taiwo, Kehinde Jimoh, Ali Morandu, Sanda Aliu, Umar Sanda, Usman Mohammed, Usman Abubakar, Umaru Ahmadu and Umaru Momodu.


It was learnt that the suspects’ arrest followed credible intelligence at the disposal of policemen at Sabo/Ilupeju divisional headquarters. 

The police had received information that two of the suspects, Hammed Taiwo and Kehinde Jimoh, were responsible for running errands for the kidnappers, using motorcycles. He disclosed that the suspects were sighted somewhere in the Rounder area of Abeokuta North, and that the DPO of Sabo/Ilupeju, SP Mustapha Opawoye, quickly mobilised personnel there and got them arrested. 


During interrogation, Oyeyemi said the duo of Taiwo and Kehinde confessed to being part of the syndicate, “but their own role is to run errands and watch the environment to prevent law enforcement agents from getting to them unawares”. 


Their confession, Oyeyemi explained, led to the discovery of the group’s hideout at Abule Oba, “where they always meet after collecting ransom from their victims.” 

“Having discovered the hideout, the DPO mobilised his men, So-safe corps, OPC men, local hunters and men of Amotekun corps and subsequently stormed the place where all the nine members of the syndicate were arrested,” Oyeyemi said. 


It was learnt that some kidnap victims have identified the suspects as their abductors. 

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to the Anti-kidnapping section of the State Criminal Investigation and intelligence (Department) CIID, appreciating the security agencies for the success of the intelligence-based operation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *