The Ogun State Police Command says it has arrested nine suspected kidnappers in Abule Oba in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who disclosed the development, said the suspects are “members of a notorious kidnap syndicate terrorising residents of Ogun State.”
The command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the syndicate used to operate along the Abeokuta-Ayetoro road, where many residents had been kidnapped and made to pay millions in ransom.
The arrest, according to Oyeyemi, was carried out by police in collaboration with local hunters, operatives of the So-safe Corps, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), the Amotekun Corps and local vigilantes
Oyeyemi identified the suspects as Hammed Taiwo, Kehinde Jimoh, Ali Morandu, Sanda Aliu, Umar Sanda, Usman Mohammed, Usman Abubakar, Umaru Ahmadu and Umaru Momodu.
The suspects’ were arrested followed credible intelligence at the disposal of policemen at Sabo/Ilupeju divisional headquarters.
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 mobilized 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 CIID, appreciating the security agencies for the success of the intelligence-based operation