Kidnapper of police DPO killed, another arrested

The police in Lagos yesterday said they gunned down a suspected kidnapper and arrested one other during an exchange of gunfire with a syndicate at Agbowa area of Ikorodu, a suburb of Lagos State.

The Lagos police spokesman, Chike Oti, confirmed the arrest in a statement. He said the two suspects belong to a kidnapping syndicate terrorising some parts of the state, particularly Ikorodu area, adding that two other suspects escaped with bullet wounds after the exchange of gunfire.

According to him, the anti-kidnapping squad of the state command, acted on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, on Friday, at about 11:00a.m. He said the command received two separate reports on November 13 and 16 from one Suleiman Ajumobi and one Veronica Ewuru about the kidnapping of their daughter and husband respectively.

“While Suleiman Eniola Ajumobi reported that his seven-year-old daughter was kidnapped from his house in his presence, Veronica Ewuru stated that her husband, one DSP Patrick Ewuru, a police officer attached to Force Headquarters annex, Obalende, was kidnapped from their home in the night when the victim came out to check on the power generating set that suddenly stopped working.

“The kidnappers demanded ransom of N25 million from Suleiman and N10 million from the family of DSP Patrick Ewuru but later settled for N500,000 for both families. At this point, the CP directed operatives handling the matter to play along with the kidnappers in the interest of the victims, who were still in captivity,” he said.

The spokesman said as soon as the release of the two victims was secured, the kidnappers’ hideout at Agbowa was busted, where one Festus Abama was killed and Austin Ebimiyenwei surrendered.

Oti said the arrested suspect confessed to the crime, while the victim had identified them as those who kidnapped them. He added that concerted effort was being made to arrest those on the run, while the suspect already in police custody would be charged to court.

Meanwhile, a medical doctor and his wife have been killed by unknown gunmen in the Adamawa State capital, Yola. Dr. Mwajim Malgwi, the proprietor of Polyclinic in Jimeta, Yola, was killed alongside his wife by yet to be identified men around Boggare village, Jimeta, as they were returning home from a meeting with farm heads on Saturday.

An associate of the late medical doctor, Ibrahim Walye, who disclosed the killings yesterday morning, could not give further detail, but a source said the assailants who were moving in a tricycle, waylaid the couple and gunned them down.

The Adamawa State police spokesman, Othman Abubakar, confirmed the incident yesterday. He said no arrest had been made but that his men were still investigating the incident.

The late Mwajim was a commissioner for health in Adamawa State in 1988-89 and was in his 70s. The family of the deceased was expected to issue a statement on the incident as at press time yesterday.