Two suspected kidnappers were beaten to a state of unconsciousness by an angry mob over the alleged abduction in Benin City, Edo State.
It was gathered that the suspects identified as Efosa Osawaru, David Ayobami and another suspect, who is at large, stormed a house in the Ugbowo area of Benin City on Saturday, November 6 and abducted a businessman.
The victim was reportedly abducted while driving out of his compound.
The kidnappers had shot sporadically into the air, forcing the victim to stop before pushing him into the trunk of his Toyota Corolla car.
However, it was gathered that the victim opened the trunk and jumped out of the moving vehicle before raising the alarm, which attracted the attention of passersby.
Subsequently, an aggrieved mob apprehended two of the suspects and beat them to stupor before handing them over to the police.
One of the suspects, Efosa Osawaru, who spoke with Standard Gazette, said that his gang had monitored the victim for some time before arriving at the decision of when to kidnap him.
“I was called by my friend to come to Uselu in Benin city to join him to kidnap a man so that we can make money. He brought a gun, and we actually went to kidnap the man in his house. We have monitored the man and discovered that it would be easy to kidnap him in the morning. We carried the man and put him in the booth of his own car while my friend collected the car key and drove off with him.”
The second suspect, David Ayobami, said, “We have other members of our gang that were already waiting for us at Oluku, and we were to hand the victim over to them for ransom talk with the family members. We then ran into traffic during the movement. That was how the man forced the car booth open and shouted for help. The people in the area almost killed us. I regret this kidnapping.”
Confirming the event, spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Bello Kontongs, said efforts were being made to arrest the suspect at large.
“We are making efforts to ensure the arrest of one of the accomplices now at large,” he added.
