Police foil kidnap of top Customs officer and family members

Police foil kidnap of top Customs officer and family members

- The police said the kidnappers wanted to kidnap the younger brother of the officer to lure her out, then kidnap her and her son as well

- They allegedly got the information of the officer from a former driver to her uncle

- Police spokesman Oti says the gang had planned to avoid ending up in jail like notorious billionaire kidnapper Evans by killing any of the victims if they saw the former driver

Officers of the Lagos state Police Command have foiled an attempt by some kidnappers to abduct a Deputy Comptroller of Customs and some of her family members.

Guardian reports that police detectives attached to Area-D- Police Command in Mushin, Lagos on Saturday, June 16 effected the arrests of the abductors after some suspicious moves by the gang.

Lagos state police spokesman Chike Oti said the Area D Commander, Olasoji, an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) assembled a decoy team which played along with a caller that had been calling Barrister Yisa Theophilus, the younger brother of the female Customs officer.

READ ALSO: Ex-PDP boss Makarfi declares intention to run for president

The police team ran a quick check on the caller based on available information and came to a conclusion that he was up to something sinister.

He narrated: “The team found out that aside from being a notorious criminal in the area, the caller, later discovered to be one Yomi Odudare, was into land selling. So the detectives called him to meet with them for a land deal and he agreed.

Kidnappers of Customs officer in Lagos
The kidnappers arrested by police. Photo: Guardian

“On Saturday, being the day they agreed to meet, the detectives went along with the younger brother of the female officer Yisa Theophilus whom he had been calling frequently. They met the suspect at a project site in Ajah, Lagos, called Fara-park and he was promptly arrested.

“During a brief interrogation at the scene of the arrest, the suspect confessed that he has never met the lawyer nor any member of his family.

“He, however, said that the idea to kidnap Bar Yisa, his sister and her son came from one Olugbenga Kehinde Ojo, a former driver to the deputy comptroller’s uncle. He added that the idea was to kidnap the lawyer and force him to lure out his sister.

“To make his story believable, he put a call to the said Olugbenga Kehinde Ojo. He told him to meet up with him, that he had successfully kidnapped the lawyer.

“He was happy and so he rushed to the venue, straight into the waiting arms of police detectives investigating the case.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android and read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

“Both suspects took the police to a shanty, surrounded by water, situated in Eleko, along Lekki/Epe Expressway, Lagos, which they prepared as a hostage ground for their would-be victims.

“It was the agreement of both suspects that in order to avoid the mistakes of the notorious kidnapper, Evans, the moment any of their potential victims sights Olugbenga Ojo, a former employee of the Deputy Comptroller’s uncle, that person must be killed because they all know him.”

In a separate event, the Police Command in Taraba on Thursday, June 14, said it had killed three suspected kidnappers who had been terrorising residents around Bali and Takum local government areas of the state.

Legit.ng reported that David Akinremi, the commissioner of police in the state, disclosed this in a statement in the state capital Jalingo.

Akinremi said that officers of the command attached to Bali division, acting on actionable intelligence, stormed the hideout of a gang of kidnappers on Wednesday, where three of them were shot dead.

Evans the kidnapper lands in Kirikiri prison after first appearance in court - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Akinyemi Akinrujomu avatar

Akinyemi Akinrujomu Akinyemi Akinrujomu is a professionally-trained journalist with over 17 years of experience. His knowledge spans print, broadcast, and online media. He has worked in several top media organizations in Nigeria. He has also pioneered several print media publications. He is a graduate of History and International Studies from the Lagos State University and he also holds a professional National Diploma in Journalism. He loves reading, travelling and listening to music.

Tags: