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Monday, October 10, 2011

LAGOS POLICE BOSS, YAKUB ALKALI



Police arrest 2 kidnappers, rescue 3 victims

The Police in Lagos has arrested two suspected members of a notorious gang engaged in kidnapping in the nation's commercial capital.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Yakubu Alkali who made this known while parading the suspects, said the arrests were made possible through public support to officers and men of the command.

The items recovered from the suspects, included 108 loaded AK 47 magazines, one rocket launcher, three rockets, four dynamites, handcuffs and assorted charms and blue films.

Alkali said the suspects were arrested on Saturday at their hideout in Obadore area of Igando, a Lagos suburb, while others escaped from the building.

He said the operation, which was led by Patrick Ejedawe, the Commander of Police Mobile Force (PMF 2), Keffi Street, Lagos, also resulted in the rescue of three kidnapped persons.

They are Godwin Ejiofor, a retired surgeon; Rodney Ogaga, an hotelier and Godwin Okonkwo, a manufacturer and transporter.

Alkali said the suspects kidnapped Ogaga, their first victim, on Sept. 3; Okonkwo, their second victim on Sept. 15, and Ejiofor, the third victim, on Oct. 5.

He said the building where the suspects kept their victims, was rented for kidnapping business, in addition to serving as their residence.

One of the suspects said that he came into Lagos three weeks ago at the invitation of his friend now at large, to collect money from him to travel to Germany, and that he was not a member of any robbery or kidnapping gang.

The second suspect, a driver from Arochukwu in Imo, said that he was invited to Lagos to liaise between the kidnappers and their victim’s families in respect of the payment and collection of ransom.

Alex Ejiofor, one of the kidnapped persons, said he was stepping out of his house at about 5:55 a.m. when he was kidnapped by the suspects, who claimed to be EFCC personnel.

Ejiofor’s colleague, Gowin Okonkwo, a manufacturer and transporter, said he was driving home from work on Sept. 15 when he was kidnapped.

Okonkwo, a resident of Afromedia area, Ajangbadi, said the kidnappers demanded for N150 million from him, and turned down his people’s offer to pay N10 million.

He showed newsmen knife cuts inflicted on him by the kidnappers, saying that he could hardly sleep because his legs and hands were tied daily since Sept. 15.

Alkali said investigations were ongoing and promised that the police would arrest other members of the gang now at large.

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