The suspects
Three members of a kidnap syndicate terrorising commuters on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway have been arrested by men of Ogun State Police Command.
The suspects, Nathaniel Jacob, from Nasarawa State; Isah Danlad, from Kogi State; and Abubakar Rabiu from Niger State, were arrested last Thursday, April 8, 2021, at Fidiwo area along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, following a tip-off from some hunters who sighted them in the bush, where they were planning to strike in the area.
It was learned that the hunters alerted the police, who rallied other stakeholders such as officers of the So Safe Corps and stormed the hideout.
On sighting the police, the suspects took to their heels in the bush, but luck ran out of the three and they were subsequently apprehended, while three others escaped with their arms.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, said on interrogation, the suspects confessed to have been in the bush for 10 days, waiting for a convenient opportunity to strike.
“It took them that long because of the heavy presence of policemen in the stretch of the expressway. They stated further that they were six in number that made up the gang and that the escaped three were in possession of their arms.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang was responsible for the series of kidnapping along the expressway. Recovered from them were cutlasses, which they claimed were seized from farmers they saw in their farms.”
He said the Commissioner of Police, Edward Awolowo-Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to an anti-kidnapping unit of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department for discreet investigation.
“The CP also assured members of the public that all the kidnap cases in the state will not go unresolved, as the command is working assiduously to bring the perpetrators to book.”
