The Lagos State Police Command says it has
arrested members of a kidnapping syndicate suspected to have kidnapped
the Chairman, Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Kehinde Bamigbetan.
According
to the police, the suspects were arrested shortly after kidnapping an
Indian, Vivex Changrani, in the early hours of Monday.
The
Commissioner of Police for the command, Umar Manko, said the suspects
were not based in Lagos but only operated in the state on weekends after
which they would flee to Ghana.
He said apart from Bamigbetan, the
suspects had been involved in a series of high-profile kidnapping
including that of a Federal High Court judge in Lagos.
He said,
“Based on painstaking investigation and tracking of Nigerian kidnappers
who kidnapped Ejigbo LCDA Chairman, Kehinde Bamigbetan, a sitting
Federal High Court Judge and other notable individuals in Lagos, a team
of detectives, led by the Officer in Charge of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad, traced the kidnappers to the Agbara area of Ogun State where the
kidnappers have their camp.
“After 72 hours of laying ambush, the
policemen stormed the house where the kidnappers were gathered. A gun
duel ensued and seven kidnappers were killed. Two of the kdinappers,
Ogbonna Emenike and Uchenna Nwanyu, were arrested alive with bullet
wounds while four AK47 rifles, 28 AK47 magazines and over 1,000 rounds
of AK47 live ammunition were recovered.
“A Honda CRV and a Nissan
Pathfinder as well as charms were recovered from them. An Indian
national, Vivex Changrani, who was kidnapped at Ikoyi two hours before
the operation, was also rescued by the police.”
Manko said the
suspects were able to evade arrest for so long because they were in
Ghana and due to international law, Nigeria policemen had to collaborate
with INTERPOL to track the suspects.
The police boss said the suspects operated in army uniforms which deceived members of the public.
“We discovered that because the suspects operated in army uniform, they
easily got away. Sometimes, they could even alight from their vehicles
in broad daylight and direct traffic in order to escape,” he said.
According to police detectives, who spoke to our correspondent on the
condition of anonymity, the suspects lived flamboyant lifestyles in
Ghana.
A police source, said the leader of the gang, Jonah Benjamin
Osinachi aka China, who was killed during a gun duel with the police,
owned a big restaurant in Ghana and other investments which he funded
with proceeds from his illegitimate business.
He said, “The suspects
only struck during weekends after which they would go back to Ghana.
For instance, after kidnapping Bamigbetan, they received $50,000 (N8m)
as ransom. They went back to Ghana without any money.
“Rather, what
they did was to give the money to a bureau de change operator who then
helped them to transfer the money through an agent to Ghana.”
The suspects however said they were not members of the gang but only friends to the killed suspects.
Nwanyu said, “I am not a kidnapper, China employed me to manage his
restaurant in Ghana and I have been doing that for two years now. I came
with China, his wife and two kids on Sunday because they said they
wanted to renew their passports at FESTAC.”
Another suspect,
Emenike, said he was not part of the gang. He said he was only released
from prison last Monday and was only at the wrong place at the wrong
time.
The Indian victim, Changrani, however identified the suspects
as his captors. He commended the police for rescuing him less than five
hours after his abduction.
He said, “I have been living in Nigeria
for seven years and I work for a plastic-manufacturing company. On
Sunday night, around 12am, I was on Gerard Road, Ikoyi, when men in army
uniform flagged down my vehicle. They jumped into my car and pushed me
into the back seat.
“An hour later, they pushed me into their own
vehicle, blindfolded me. After some hours, they took me into their house
and locked me in a room and told me to sleep. Around 5am, I started
hearing gunshots and when the police identified themselves, I screamed
for help and they rescued me. The police did a fantastic job.”
Source: Punch
