Kidnapping: Suspect paraded in wheelchair claims to be car thief

Police block bandits, kidnappers’ routes to Abuja
A Suspected kidnapper, Chinaza Philip, who was paraded on a wheelchair by the police, has confessed to being a car thief and not a kidnapper.

The 28-year-old suspect, who was recently arrested in Kaduna after operating in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said his gang was fully into stealing of cars and not kidnapping.

Philip, who was writhing in pain as a result of gunshot wounds on his leg, said: “Anything I am telling you now is the truth and nothing but the truth. I know some people will say I am lying. I want the whole world to know that I am not a kidnapper.

“My friends and I were on patrol, looking out for cars to steal. We snatch cars from parks. We saw one Hilux in a compound and we turned back. We entered and asked the owner for the key, which he gave us.

“The plan was not to carry the man, but I don’t know why my friend, ‘Yellow’, said we should carry him. We took the man in the back seat with me. I never knew that the intention of Yellow was to collect money from him.

“He asked the man how much he had in his account and the man said N5 million. I did not have the power to stop Yellow. It was one of us who was pointing a gun at the man.

“It was Yellow that brought the guns. I don’t know Yellow very well. It was my friend, Chidiebere, who introduced me to Yellow. I did not know it was kidnapping we were out for; I thought it was our normal car theft business.”

Meanwhile, FCT Commissioner of Police, Garuba Haruna, has explained steps taken by the command to safeguard the life and property of residents in the federal capital.

He said: “The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had, on January 17, launched the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) at Force Headquarters, Abuja, to curb the menace of kidnapping, armed banditry and other sundry crimes.

“The launch of this special squad has yielded positive results as all the identified bandits’ routes, especially in Bwari Area Council, have been blocked by the police, thereby denying them access into the FCT via Niger, Kaduna and Nasarawa states.

“Since then, no case of kidnapping has been recorded in that axis. In addition, many kidnapping and armed robbery suspects have been arrested and victims rescued.

“In the same vein, several arms and live ammunition and vehicles taken away from victims have been recovered.”