The Edo State Police Command says its operatives have foiled an alleged kidnap and arrested four suspects while on township surveillance patrol on Ugbor road at GRA in Benin, the state capital.
A statement by the Command’s deputy spokesperson, ASP Jennifer Iwegbu on Tuesday, said one of the suspects identified as Ayo Jeremiah Obazuwa, 50, was in complete military regalia and claimed to be a military captain during his arrest.
Other suspects were identified as Sule Kelson Jubril, Silas Uwana, and Ogbonmwan Jude.
According to the statement, “Operatives of Edo State Police Command while on township surveillance patrol on 10/09/2022 along Ugbor road, GRA Benin, stopped a suspicious Toyota Corolla car with Reg. no USL929SS with five occupants.
“On a closer survey of the occupants of the car, one of the suspects who later was identified as Ayo Jeremiah Obazuwa was on complete military regalia and claimed to be a captain.
“Another occupant who was later identified as Joseph Bulus, 32, was seen in handcuffs, which led to all the occupants being brought to State CID for further investigation.”
Iwegbu said during the preliminary investigations, Obazuwa confessed to being a civilian and not military personnel as claimed while the handcuffed occupant, Bulus said that he was in his house when the self-acclaimed Captain came in the company of three others under the guise of giving him a job.
He narrated that they handcuffed him, dragged him into the boot of the car, and whisked him away to an unknown location before he was later removed from the boot and made to sit in the car.
Iwegbu, however, said the case had been charged to court on Monday under a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy to commit a felony and kidnapping punishable under the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
In a related development, the Command said it killed a suspected kidnapper in a routine operation on Sunday near Ughiole forest in Etsako West Local Government Area of the State.
“In a routine ambush, the Edo State Police command recorded a victory over kidnappers in the northern senatorial zone of the state.
“Operatives of the Command on 11/09/2022 led by the DPO Agbede while on routine ambush operation along the pipeline axis of Ughiole Forest in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, encountered some hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers emerging from the forest.
“The hoodlums sensing the presence of police operatives engaged them in a gun duel while trying to escape back into the forest. However, one of the kidnappers was fatally injured and later died. Others escaped into the forest with various degrees of gunshot wounds.
“Effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing gang members as intense bush combing is currently ongoing. Items recovered from the dead kidnapper include; one locally made gun, amulets, charms, and a cash sum of Two hundred and forty thousand naira (N240,000.00).
“The Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, admonished the operatives to rid the state of the vestiges of these undesirables, especially now that the command is intensifying end-of-the-year security cleanup,” the statement added.
