Operatives of the Ogun State police command have arrested a member of a notorious six-man kidnap gang who escaped into the Onigbedu forest in the Ewekoro Local government area of the state.
Two members of the gang were earlier arrested.
The gang reportedly kidnapped one Owolabi Abiodun and one Fakorede Kazeem at Kipe village, Idi Ori Abeokuta on October 7, 2022.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP, Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Oyeyemi said the suspect, Usman Aliyu, was arrested following a combing exercise embarked upon by the police after receiving information that he was sighted taking a commercial motorcycle in Onigbedu area moving towards Papalanto en route to Lagos.
The statement read, “Following the recent arrest of 2 members of a deadly kidnap gang at Onigbedu forest in Ewekoro local government area of Ogun State and aggressive bush combing exercise embarked upon by men of Ogun State police command in search of the escaped members of the gang, one of the fleeing suspects, Usman Aliyu, was on the 14th of December 2023 arrested by operatives of the Command.
“The suspect was arrested following information received by policemen at Ewekoro divisional headquarters that the suspect was sighted taking a commercial motorcycle at Onigbedu area moving towards Papalanto en route Lagos. Upon the information, the DPO Ewekoro division, CSP Sunday Opebiyi, quickly mobilized his men on stop and search along that road and the suspect was subsequently identified and promptly arrested.
“On interrogation, he confessed to being a member of the kidnap gang, whose two members were earlier arrested and a victim rescued from them. He informed the police that they were six in number, and that when two amongst them were apprehended, the other members ran into different directions in the forest. But since policemen are not relenting in searching for them in the bush, he decided to come out and take a commercial motorcycle out of that vicinity.
“He confessed further that it was this gang that was responsible for the kidnap of one Owolabi Abiodun and one Fakorede Kazeem at Kipe village, Idi Ori Abeokuta on the 7th of October 2022, but Fakorede Kazeez was killed by the gang because he was unable to walk fast while they were being taken away in the bush.
“The gang according to him also kidnapped the duo of Adekunle Esther, 10-year-old and Adekunle Adebayo 25 years of age at Olomowewe street, Rounder, Abeokuta on the 10th of October 2022. He confessed further that on the 19th of October 2022, the gang also kidnapped one Mrs Famurewa at Abule-ijaiye coyote Abeokuta at the entrance of their house after killing her 65-year-old husband, one Festus Famurewa and later released the wife after collecting ransom.”
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