Nemesis catches up with suspected kidnappers in Kogi

Four kidnappers, who specialise in the use of military fatigues to deceive unsuspecting members of the public, were arrested and paraded yesterday by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Kogi State. The suspects include: Haruna Saleh, Kabiru Shu’aibu, Abdulmumuni Adamu and Tukur Shu’aibu.

This came on the heels of recent initiatives employed by the state government and security operatives to put an end to the incessant kidnapping of high-profile persons, including politicians and judges, which have been giving the state a bad image.

The gang leader, Abdulmumini Adamu, told journalists they were involved in several criminal operations and appealed for mercy, adding that they got the military uniforms from one motorcyclist in Kaduna State.

He confessed to being behind many kidnapping escapades in Kaduna, Zaria and Niger. The suspects, who gave their state of origin as Kaduna, said the terrain was a very familiar one, as one of them had lived in Obajana for six years.

The State Director of the Service, Mr. Joseph I. Okpo, who paraded the suspects in Lokoja, disclosed that his men operating on intelligence tip-off, closed in on the deadly gang along Lokoja-Koton Karfe-Abuja road last week.

Okpo explained that the suspects were coming from Kaduna and were to link up with some other gang members at Obajana from where they planned to launch their dastardly acts in the state.

He said the suspects, who were dressed in full military combatant uniforms, confessed to being part of a six-man gang that have coordinated several kidnapping and robbery operations in different parts of Kogi, Niger, Kaduna and Plateau states.“They confessed that between the time of Ramadan and the day they were arrested, they had engaged in six different operations, which included one at Minna Kotonkarfe Road in Niger State, Mararaba Jos Road in Kaduna State, two different operations at different times along Malunfashi Road, Zaria and two operations around Jaji Zaria road all in full military uniforms.”

He said his men were still investigating to ascertain the location and size of their cache of weapons. “They were arrested with small weapons, which they carried on their body.He added that the kidnappers were exploiting the physical geography and route structure in Kogi. “We already know Kogi is the only state that shares borders with nine other states and the FCT.

“The command will continue to cooperate and liaise with other security agencies and we will deploy our core competence, which are both intelligence and technology, to address these security challenges,” he said.