Three men, including an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, have been arrested by the Police for attempting to kidnap a businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola. This was disclosed in a statement signed by Mr. Don N. Awunah, Force Public Relations Officer.
According to the statement, the kidnap attempt was foiled by the Inspector-General of Police's Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
The arrest, the Police explained, was achieved through coordinated intelligence gathering and deployment of technical investigative tools that spanned several weeks.
The principal suspect, according to the Police, is one Ikechukwu Daniel, a 28-year-old indigene of Imo State, who was rusticated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, for cultism during the in 2009/2010 academic session. Daniel also functions as the Information Technology expert of the gang. He was said to have made disclosures about their criminal activities in the South-West geo-political zone of the country.
Also arrested is Adeyemi Kayode, a 29-year old serving officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). He is said to be a native of Ibadan, Oyo State. Until his arrest, he served as a Personal Assistant to the Commandant, NSCDC Oyo State Command. Kayode was said to have taken undue advantage of his office to obtain Mr. Otedola's mobile telephone number and location. He came up with the plan on how to kidnap Mr. Otedola, with the intention to demand a ransom of N1billion.
The third suspect, Ayodele Temitayo, also a native of Ibadan, is said to be the marksman and armorer of the gang. The Police said he claimed to have been dismissed from the Maiduguri-based 213 Battalion of the Nigerian Army as a Private in 2015.
All the suspects were said to have made confessional statements revealing that they had successfully carried out several high-profile kidnappings. Items recovered from them were two AK47 rifles loaded with live ammunition. The Police also disclosed that efforts have been stepped up to arrest other members of the gang.
The statement quoted the Inspector-General of Police as urging members of the public to provide the Police with the information required to fight crime, promising that such will be treated with utmost confidentiality.
