Three members of a kidnap syndicate, who have allegedly been terrorising commuters on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway for some time now, have been arrested by operatives of the Ogun State Police Command.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, explained in a statement that the suspects who hail from Nasarawa, Kogi and Niger states, were arrested at the Fidiwo area of the state.
Oyeyeyemi added that the operatives followed a tip-off from some hunters, who sighted the suspects in the bush.
On sighting the police, the spokesman said the suspects took to their heels in the bush, but luck ran out of the three and were subsequently apprehended, while three others escaped with their arms.
On interrogation, the suspects were said to have confessed to have been in the bush for the past ten days, waiting for a convenient opportunity to strike.
“Following a tipoff from some hunters, who sighted the suspects in the bush where they were planning on how to strike along the expressway, the hunters quickly alerted the police, so safe corps and hunter groups stormed their hideout,” the statement partly read.
“On interrogation, the suspects confessed to have been in the bush for the past ten days, waiting for a convenient opportunity to strike. It took them that long because of heavy presence of policemen in the stretch of the expressway.
“They stated further that, they are six in number that makes up the gang and that the escaped three are in possession of their arms.”
Items recovered from them were cutlasses which they claimed were seized from farmers they saw in their farms.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspects to Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.
The police boss assured residents and members of the public that all the kidnap cases in the state will not go unresolved, adding that the command is working assiduously to bring the perpetrators to book.
