The Ogun State Police Command has said that no fewer than nine members of notorious syndicate of kidnappers terrorising residents of Ogun state have been arrested in their hideouts in Abeokuta,Ogun State.
This was disclosed by the command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, on Monday said the syndicate used to operate along the Abeokuta-Ayetoro road, where many residents had been kidnapped and made to pay millions in ransom.
According to Oyeyemi, the suspects were arrested on Sunday at their hideout in Abule Oba, off Ayetoro Road, Abeokuta.
They were captured by policemen, who Oyeyemi said, were supported by local hunters, operatives of the So-safe Corps, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), the Amotekun Corps and local vigilantes.
It was gathered that the operation was carried out followed credible intelligence at the disposal of policemen at Sabo/Ilupeju divisional headquarters.
Two of the suspects, Hammed Taiwo and Kehinde Jimoh, were said to be the kidnappers’ errand boys, operating on motorcycles.
Oyeyemi disclosed that the suspects were sighted somewhere in the Rounder area of Abeokuta North, to where the DPO of Sabo/Ilupeju, SP Mustapha Opawoye, quickly mobilised his men 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 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.
The suspects were identified as Hammed Taiwo, Kehinde Jimoh, Ali Morandu, Sanda Aliu, Umar Sanda, Usman Mohammed, Usman Abubakar, Umaru Ahmadu and Umaru Momodu.