Kola Adeyemi
Lokoja – The Police in Kogi on Friday said they had arrested six kidnappers and one robbery suspect with arms and ammunition in the state.
A statement issued in Lokoja by the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP William Aya, said that the suspects were arrested following tip-offs.
Aya gave the names of the suspected kidnappers as Samson Akogun, Joseph Mathias, Hassan Idris, Iliyasu Shaibu, Alhaji Shadow and Ede Adejoh.
He said that the suspects were arrested at their various hideouts in Egabada and Idah communities in Kogi East senatorial districts.
According to him, the suspects were behind the alleged kidnapping of Mr Ogbu Chikehi of Egabada town in Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area in September.
The police spokesman said the hoodlums collected a ransom of N100,000 from their victim.
He said that the suspects had since confessed to the crime, saying that items recovered from them include a pump action gun, machetes , charms and N33,400.
He said the robbery suspect, Sheu Mohammed, was arrested by operatives attached to Kabba Division recently.
On interrogation, Aya said that the suspect confessed to belonging to a syndicate that had been terrorising residents of Kabba and its environs.
“Efforts are on top gear to arrest other members of his syndicate. Items recovered from him include one locally made Pistol with one live Cartridge,” he said.
He attributed the achievements to “the proactive strategies rooted in intelligence -led policing and robust interaction with the various strata of our communities”.
To consolidate on this, Aya said, the Police Area Commanders as well as Divisional Police Officers had been charged to beef up security in their areas of responsibilities.
“ They are to ensure massive deployment of police patrol teams and undercover operatives to black spots, flash points and other vulnerable criminal spots to nip in the bud all forms of crimes and criminality across the state,” the police spokesman said. ( NAN)
