Ololade Adeyanju/
Officers at Zone XI police headquarters in Osogbo have smashed a 5-man gang of kidnappers demanding N3million as a ransom for a farmer abducted and kept for 17 days.
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Leye Oyebade, in charge of Zone XI, comprising of Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states spoke about the police breakthrough at a press conference today in Osogbo.
He said, “The latest breakthrough in our relentless efforts at combating heinous crimes in the Zone is the arrest of a notorious kidnap gang. The gang which until the arrest, had been terrorizing innocent citizens of the state, abducting them for ransom.”
According to him, the gang led by one Jimoh Adamu Omotayo, 32, abducted a 46-year-old victim, Salihu Ahmed, in his farm located at Agboye Village, near Okuku, in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of the state at about 8 am on February 26, 2019.
“The gang numbering about five and armed with locally-made single barrel guns, took the victim (who was later blindfolded) to a forest in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, where he was held captive for 17 days.
“The suspects were forced to release their victim without collecting the N3million ransom earlier demanded, following aggressive manhunt for them by the police who they knew were closing up on them. Release of the suspects notwithstanding, the Zonal Technical Intelligence Response Unit led by SP Idowu Fapojuwo was mandated to arrest the suspects.
“After a painstaking investigation carried out by a team of crack detectives from the Unit, three members of the kidnap gang were nabbed at their various criminal hideouts in the State. Upon the arrest, the kingpin confessed to the crime and named Abdullahi Budah ‘m’ (52), Umaru Ahmed ‘m’ (35), Babatunde ‘m’ (surname unknown and one other as members of the gang who perpetrated the criminal act.”
AIG Oyebade added that upon his assumption of duty, he made a resolution to ensure drastic reduction of heinous crimes in the Zone.
“Various security strategies were put in place to achieve this objective. Some of the strategies to strengthen the security architecture in the Zone involved setting up a technical platform for intelligence management, and revamping our operational outfits and capability. All these efforts coupled with the recent launch of an additional operational outfit, Operation Puff Adder, are beginning to yield the expected results as the Zonal Command within a space of time has arrested some suspects for various offences. “While some of these suspects have been arraigned in courts, others are still under investigation.”
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