The Ogun State Police Command has arrested no fewer than 41 suspects, including one strongly believed to have participated in the abduction of three staff of Lafia Hospital Ibadan along the ever-busy Lagos – Ibadan expressway last week Tuesday.
A statement issued on Monday by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi said four other victims were also rescued along with the Lafia hospital staffers last Saturday when high powered security operatives bombarded the scene of the incident and thoroughly combed the adjourning bush.
Though he declined to give names of the suspects, Oyeyemi explained that a total of seven victims, which included Kayode Sule, son of the Chief Medical Director of Lafia Hospital, Apata, Ibadan were successfully rescued last Saturday and have been reunited with their families.
LEADERSHIP recalled that suspected kidnappers had abducted Kayode, along with two other staffs of the hospital: Dele Adigun and Oyeyemi Abifari at the forest in the Fidiwo/Onigari axis along Lagos-Ibadan expressway last week wherein they demanded N50 million ransom.
But in the statement issued yesterday by the Ogun PPRO, Oyeyemi explained that his command deployed high powered security operatives to the scene of the incident with a clear mandate to rescue the victims unhurt as well as bring the perpetrators to book.
“Having located the hoodlums’ hideout, the place was smoked through the chopper, which left the hoodlums with no other alternatives than to hurriedly push out their victims from captivity.
“It was there and then we discovered that apart from three persons abducted last Tuesday 23rd of July, another four persons were abducted on the 24th but not reported.
“One suspect who is strongly believed to have taken part in the kidnap saga was arrested and he is currently assisting the police in our investigation.
“To further rid the area of criminal activities, a comprehensive intelligence-based raid was carried out in all the surrounding forests as well as the vulnerable points in the area where about 40 suspects were arrested with all sort of illicit drugs”.
Oyeyemi however, explained that his command has commenced an investigation in order to determine the culpability or otherwise of the arrested suspects before they are arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction.
