Nemesis has caught up with 10 suspected kidnappers who have been terrorising the popular Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as they were apprehended by the men of Oyo State Police Command with the support of other security agencies, including Amotekun Corps.
The suspects, according to the police, were responsible for the abduction of a former deputy vice chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof Adigun Agbaje, who was kidnapped at the Onigaari axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, around 6pm on October 28, 2022. A ransom of N10 million was said to have been collected before he was released. But he sustained a gunshot injury on his head.
The suspects’ names were given as Mohammed Salfa, 20; Usman Hassan, 22, fondly called Yellow; Mohammed Bello, 28; Babangida Buhari Awalu, 34; Kabiru Aliyu, 25, fondly called Dangata; Mikailu Yahaya, 25 and Muhammadu Umoru, 30. Others are Ayanwola Samson Gbenga, 22; Adewuyin Adewumi Sunday, 34 and Rafiu Abdulmajeed, 40.
The Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Adebowale Williams, who paraded the suspects before journalists at Eleyele, Ibadan, yesterday, revealed that exhibits recovered from the suspects include cash of N7.5 million, four AK-47 rifles, 75 AK-47 live ammunition, two pairs of military camouflage, one mobile beret and a victim’s bag.
Three suspected kidnappers, who allegedly killed a United States-based Ogbomoso born hotelier, Mr. Gbenga Owolabi, were also paraded by Williams before journalists. They were also said to have been responsible for the kidnapping and killing of a final year student of Fine and Applied Arts, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Racheal Opadele. Both Owolabi and Opadele were abducted on July 28, 2022, and were killed on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, after a ransom of N5 million was paid.
On the suspects arrested in connection with kidnapping on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Williams stated: “On October 28, 2022, at about 1700hours, some members of a dreaded kidnapping syndicate, who were reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and some other sophisticated firearms, attacked and kidnapped an academic don and seven other people, who were traveling along the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“The dare-devil gunmen equally attacked a team of responding policemen while heeding the distress call to rescue trapped victims on the highway. This, in turn, led to the death of an Inspector of Police, who paid the supreme price in a fierce gun duel.
The kidnappers later whisked the victims away to an unknown destination through the thick forest along the said Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, while their relatives were contacted for monetary demands in exchange for their liberty.”
Williams explained that “some of the abductors, in a carefully arranged identification parade, in line with professional standard practices, were identified by the victims from the incident at full glare.”
The police boss added that some were arrested at Ojoo and Ago-Are in Oyo State, while a number of them were also arrested at the Gbugbu area of Kwara State.
He said investigation revealed that the monies received from the victims were moved into the bank accounts of Adewuyi Adewumi Sunday, Ayanwola Samson Gbenga, and Rafiu Abdulmajeed for onward distribution to other members of the kidnapping syndicate. The suspects, he said, confessed that the transactions were made into the three suspects’ bank accounts via Point of Sales terminals at choice locations to evade arrest.
“The manhunt for other members of the criminal syndicate continues as further development will be communicated accordingly,” he said.
