Police arrest four suspects in Turkish school kidnap

•Recover N1.2m ransom
• NHRC, CSO condemn Turkish school kidnap

Four suspects are already with the police for allegedly kidnapping pupils and teachers of the Nigeria Turkish International School in Isheri, Ogun State. Also, N1.2 million, said to be part of the ransom collected, has been recovered from the suspects.

The suspects are: Bekewei Agbojule, aka Prince Yellow, 29; Philip Kakadu, aka General Kakadu; Romeo Council, aka Raw; and Totki Okoda, 34. A statement issued by the force spokesman, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Don Awunah, said Okoda, who resided in the creek behind the school, provided information for the gang.

Awunah said in the course of investigation, the suspects were trailed and arrested at different locations in Delta, Ogun and Lagos states respectively, adding that further investigation led to the arrest of Bekewei Agbojule aka “Prince Yellow”, a principal suspect and one of the key members of the gang on January 25.

“N1.2 million, his share of the ransom, was recovered from him. The four suspects confessed to the crime, volunteered useful statements to the investigators and are cooperating with the police,” he said, noting that concerted efforts were being made to arrest the remaining suspects who are at large.

Awunah gave the assurance that all the suspects would be arraigned in court on completion of investigation. The victims, who were abducted on January 13, had already regained their freedom. They were released by their abductors on January 24 around 8p.m.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the incessant cases of kidnapping in various schools across the country saying, “it is an affront on the right to education and should not be tolerated.”

The Acting Executive Secretary of the commission, Mrs. Oti Ovrawah, made this statement when the National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the board of governors of the organization paid a courtesy visit to the commission.

Lamenting the ugly trend of kidnapping in various schools across the nation, Ovrawah called on parents, security agencies and the general public to be vigilant and nip in the bud every case of kidnapping, while ensuring that those who indulge in the unwholesome act are punished in accordance with the law.

Earlier, Onwubiko told the Acting Executive Secretary that they were in the commission to register their distaste over the alleged killing of innocent Nigerians across the nation by herdsmen, hence the need for the commission to partner with the Department of the State Security (DSS) for improved human rights protection and enforcement among other sundry human rights issues.