Police arrest Isheri North kidnap ‘kingpin’ in Ogun

The suspect

• Epe abductors demand N50m ransom for farm workers
The alleged mastermind of the kidnap of Lagos Isheri North Estate Secretary, Dayo Adekoya, Joseph Omoni, has been arrested. He was arrested by operatives of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Abba Kyari.
The 38-year-old suspect, who hails from Ajapa community, Ese in Ondo State, was arrested in Century Village, Ogijo town, in Ogun State. The suspect was alleged to have also participated in the kidnap of the Nigerian Turkish school girls and officials and also the December kidnapping operation at Ikorodu, where a popular TV presenter, Aisha Ali-Balogun, was killed.
The suspect confessed that he only got N250,000 from the ransom paid for the release of the Isheri North estate secretary. “I got N250,000 from the ransom because the sum paid was too small, but for the Nigerian Turkish International College, I got N2 million. I was also involved in the kidnap on Ikorodu Road, where Aisha Balogun was killed. We didn’t know her until we read in the papers that she was a TV presenter. I got about N1 million from that ransom.


“I cannot say what really happened during the Isheri North kidnap. Though we exchanged fire while escaping with the man, but we read in the papers that three security men were killed. Well, I cannot say that I regret everything because I was able to build houses with the money I got from the Nigerian Turkish school. I bought tiles, windows and other accessories to complete my house at Century Village, in Ogijo community,” he said. In another development, abductors of the two members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) and five farm workers of Eliasa Livestock farm, who were kidnapped in Igbodu area of Epe on Tuesday have demanded the sum of N50 million as ransom from families of their victims.

His house where he was arrested

The gunmen, it was learnt, contacted the manager of the farm using the phone of one of the victims yesterday and asked for a whooping N50 million for their seven victims.
According to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 command, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, “we are going to rescue the victims alive. We are doing everything to police that area; but the major problem in that part of the state is that the area is porous. It gives room for kidnapping to thrive.
“We will police that area 24 hours every day but my advice to business owners and school operators is that they should be security conscious and do their background checks on anybody they want to employ. We are also going to do our own job to see to the release of the victims without paying a dime to the abductors,” he said.
A senior police officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “On February 14, around 4a.m. after unrelenting follow up by IRT with technical intelligence unit, one of the Isheri Estate secretary and Turkish school kids kidnappers, Joseph Omoni, was arrested.”
The police officer said one kingpin simply identified as ‘chairman’ has also been identified to be hiding in the same Century Village at Ogijo, but assured that he would soon be arrested as detectives has condone off the area. He said the police were making effort to apprehend other members of the gang.

Guardian