Samson Ayomide

Accomplices of  a kidnapping syndicate, on Thursday confirmed their roles in the recent kidnapping operations at Onigari on Lagos-Ibadan expressway which led to the death of a 45-year old man, Oluwatosin Anwajoye.

Situation on Lagos – Ibadan Express road  has been tensed in the last few weeks because of the activities of bandits and armed robbers. The  Onigari area of Lagos-Ibadan expressway was most notorious for the activities of these hoodlums.

One Bashiru Abubakar, leader of motor cycle riders and who was apprehended by the police and paraded to the public at Oyo state Police headquarters in Ibadan by the Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko revealed their modus operandi,

Abubakar who said they were playing different roles for the kidnappers which include supplying foods and drinks, further added that they receive N10,000 each after the operation.

Others are Babuga Umaru, Mohammed Umar, Tambaya Usman Shehu, Aliyu Umaru and Isiaka Ibrahim.

While speaking, the police commissioner said the command arrested another kidnap syndicate on the Ijebu-ode-Ibadan expressway and another three gangs of serial armed robbers in Ibadan.

She said the command had recorded many achievements through intelligent gathering mechanisms and purposeful driven intelligence.

According to her, “In a swift response to the evolving trends of crime particularly robberies, ritual killings and highway abductions, and as the lead agency on internal security, the command through purposefully driven intelligence, redefined its operational and tactical architecture to engage these challenges with strategic partnerships with relevant sister agencies and other non-state actors, hence the string of successes achieved.

“In this vein, deliberate intelligence-driven decisions have been made with the aim of intensifying efforts at ensuring the safety and security of lives and properties across all nooks and crannies of the state.

“These actions shall include; amplified convoy patrols, highway visibility policing and patrols, enforcement of the ban on sirens and covered number plates for unauthorized persons, increased layers of supervision for field operatives and the establishment of Student Desk Offices across Area Commands to oversee “Police-Student” related affairs,” she stressed.

The victims were, however, at the police command to identify their kidnappers.