Four members of a notorious kidnap gang terrorising Abeokuta and its environs have been apprehended by operatives of Ogun State Police Command.
The suspects – Ismaila Ibrahim, 21, Musa Muhammed, 26, Irekura Abu, 43, and Okanlawon Muhammed, 26, were arrested following series of kidnap cases at Soyooye and Ibara Orile area of Abeokuta, the state capital.
As the kidnap cases in the aforementioned areas appeared to be rising, the Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Bankole, directed the Anti kidnapping team to move in and smoke out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
This prompted the SP Taiwo Opadiran led team to embark on a technical and intelligence based investigation, which led them to one of the suspects, Irukura Abu; who was later discovered to be the supplier of guns to the hoodlums.
His arrest subsequently led to the arrest of Musa Muhammed while he was coming out to buy food for their victims and members of the gang.
The Spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who made this known in a release seen by The Daily Crucible, stated that after a thorough investigation, the two confessed to be members of a kidnap gang responsible for the abduction of one Bishop Oladimeji Joshua of prayer city, Keesan Abeokuta, on September 22, 2022.
Oyeyemi, a Superintendent of Police(SP), also stated that the suspects informed the police that they were responsible for the kidnap of one Kafayat Jelili of Ogo titun area of Ibara Orile on September 27, 2022.
According to the police Image maker in the state, the suspects’ confessions led to the arrest of the remaining two, Ismaila Ibrahim and Okanlawon Muhammed.
He listed two double barrel guns and a single barrel long gun as items retrieved from them even as Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, who commended the Anti kidnapping unit for the breakthrough had ordered that the suspects be charged to court when investigation is concluded.
The police boss also directed a massive manhunt for fleeing other members of the gang.
