The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kidnap

  • Gunmen kidnap Briton, Italian, five other foreigners in Bauchi

    Gunmen kidnap Briton, Italian, five other foreigners in Bauchi

    Unknown gunmen kidnapped seven foreigners and killed a security guard when they stormed the compound of Lebanese construction company SETRACO in Bauchi yesterday morning.

    Among those abducted were a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers, including two women, Local Government Chairman Adamu Aliyu and security sources said.

    It was the worst case of foreigners being kidnapped in the North since an insurgency by Islamist militants intensified nearly two years ago.

    No one took responsibility for the attacks and kidnappings have been linked to Boko Haram and another Islamist group – Al Qaeda-aligned group Ansaru – which rose to prominence recently. The group claimed responsibility for the kidnap in December of a French national, who is still missing.

    Bauchi Police Chief Mohammed Ladan said the gunmen attacked a police station and a prison overnight before storming the construction firm’s compound in Jama’are, a Bauchi State town.

    “We repelled the attack on the police station and the security men at the prison yard also repelled the attack, but they burnt two vehicles in Jama’are police station,” Ladan said.

    “They then attacked Setraco construction, killed a local security guard and they succeeded in kidnapping people,” he said and declined to state the nationality of the victims.

    The Italian and Greek foreign ministries confirmed that one of their nationals was taken in the raid. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Abuja said it was investigating.

    Islamist group Ansaru’s full name is Jama’atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan, which roughly translates as “Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa”.

    It claimed responsibility for a dawn raid on a major police station in Abuja last year, where it said hundreds of prisoners were released. Last month in Kogi State, it attacked a convoy of Nigerian troops en route to deployment in Mali.

    The group said the abduction of the Frenchman last year was motivated by France’s ban of the full-face veil and its military intervention against Islamist insurgents in Mali.

    Kidnapping of foreigners for ransom has been common in the Southsouth for years but abductions by radical Islamists in the North began only last year.

    Britain in November put Ansaru on its official “terrorist group” list, saying it was aligned with al Qaeda and was behind the kidnap of a British and a Italian killed last year during a failed rescue attempt.

    Ansaru is thought to have loose ties to Boko Haram (Western Education is a sin), which has killed hundreds during a three-year-long insurgency focused mostly on Nigerian security forces, religious targets and politicians, rather than foreigners.

    Boko Haram wants to carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has repeatedly said that the military are winning the battle against what he calls “terrorism” in northern Nigeria.

    But Western governments are increasingly concerned about Islamists in Nigeria linking up with groups outside the region, including al Qaeda’s North African wing AQIM.

    President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu urged the Federal Government to urgently commit law enforcement, intelligence and counter-terrorism resources in locating and safely rescuing the seven kidnapped foreign workers.

    Ekhomu said the international community was waiting to see how the Nigerian authorities will resolve the kidnap crisis. He said the Bauchi kidnap incident was unfortunate as several nationalities were involved. “Our foreign partners are counting on the Nigerian security infrastructure to keep their citizens safe while they are in Nigeria. Therefore no security resource should be spared in the prompt and safe release of the foreign kidnap victims.”

    The internationally-renowned security expert said the kidnap operation was apparently executed by Boko Haram in consultation with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).. He said: “the security breach must be understood in the context of Nigeria’s military action in Mali. The kidnap saga is meant to teach us a lesson for sending troops to Mali. This action is obviously one of those backlashes that we have anticipated will follow in the wake of Nigeria’s military action in Mali.”

  • ‘Why we arranged our bosses’ kidnap’

    ‘Why we arranged our bosses’ kidnap’

    THREE members of a six-man kidnapping gang allegedly used by a private driver to abduct his madam are now guests of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command.

    Narrating how Wahab allegedly used the gang to kidnap the woman, one of the suspects, Rasheed Ramon, a 30-year-old indigene of Oyo town, said: “I know Mohammed very well as a street friend. We were street boys. Ahmed is a carpenter on Lagos Island. He called me on the phone and said Wahab had given him a job to kidnap his (Wahab’s) boss.

    “Wahab was a driver to the woman. He was sacked and he became a commercial bus driver. He said he would pay me good money.

    “So, sometime in November 2012, six of us, namely Ramond, Rasheed, Ahmed Salau, Lekan, Agbenu, Ahmed Ajanu and Wahab, went to Awoyaya, after Ajah, a suburb of Lagos.

    “The victim deals in designer clothes. Ahmed called the woman and told her that she wanted to give her a job. When the woman arrived at Awoyaya, Ahmed kidnapped her. All of us assisted Ahmed because we came out from where we were hiding and pointed a gun at the woman.

    “Although Wahab used to be the woman’s private driver, on that fateful day, the woman drove herself to the scene of the incident. I wanted to tie the woman’s face with a red cloth but they advised me to leave her like that so that she would not die of shock if she mistook us for ritualists. They said it was better for her to see what we were doing so that she would not develop hypertension, which could result in stroke or sudden death.”

    The second suspect, Olalekan Apena (28), a native of Epe, a suburb of Lagos, said: “I am a private driver to a woman. To be a driver to a woman is the worst job, no matter how much you are paid. Not only will you not be paid well, you will be treated like a houseboy, an errand boy and a rag.

    “It was Wahab who opened our eyes to how to pay back women who treat us as slaves. There are two kidnap cases here. The first one was organised by Wahab to kidnap his madam. The second operation was organised by me, but it was in the same area, the same method and the same hideout.

    “Ahmed Ajanu organised the kidnap of Mrs Owoduni Bukky. She is an insurance worker. She is my madam. I drive her every day and she pays me N30,000 monthly with no free accommodation or feeding.

    “I am a mere domestic driver to her. She uses me as she likes. Even to go to market, she would call me to drive her. She would ask me to carry anything she bought to the car. I alone would do the loading and offloading. I work for her from 6 am to 10 pm.

    “I was the one who brought the job. I told Raymond to kidnap my madam and I revealed to him that her husband has a lot of money but both of them are very stingy. Any time I begged them for money, they refused, even when I had pressing problems.

    “To show you how heartless they are, the woman travelled abroad one time and the husband drove me away from the house. He told me to go and do something to help myself since his wife had travelled abroad and would stay for more than one month. He said I would not be paid anything for the period she would not be around. I had to find my way to keep body and soul together. That led me to go to the place where I started driving caterpillar.

    “Although I was paid N30,000 monthly for driving caterpillar, the pains my body experienced are worrying me till today. There was no way the woman cared to help me as her private driver. She does not even pick my calls whenever I call her for financial assistance, knowing full well that her husband has a lot of money.

    “On that fateful day, Ahmed called the woman on the phone and said there was a job he wanted to give her, which would yield millions of naira. When she came, Ahmed told her to wait for the men who would give her the job. When the men arrived, they turned out to be kidnappers who held her and forced her to follow them to Ebowo area, a community in Ogun State.

    “Ahmed later called the husband with the woman’s phone. The husband brought two point something million naira. We later released the woman and shared the ransom. I got N300,000, Rasheed Ramoni got N400,000, Ahmed Salau got N300,000. I lent them N40,000 earlier for mobilisation, which they refunded.

    “It was along Ijebu-Ode Road that they dropped the money for us to pick. The second kidnapping job was brought by Wahab. He is a private driver to a woman. It was the same system we used because it was the same gang that did the job. Knowing that the victim deals in cakes and meat pie, Ahmed called her and told her that there was work for her.

    “When she came, all of us came out and Ramon showed her a gun and told her to comply with our instructions. It was Olalekan who took over the woman’s steering and we drove to Ibowo side and dumped the woman in a bush.

    “We spread a mat for her after clearing the bush to make the place neat. She refused to eat the delicious food we bought for her, thinking that we wanted to drug her.

    “When Ahmed contacted her husband on the phone that night, he said he would call us in the morning. After two hours, we suspected that keeping his response till morning might be a ploy to contact the police to arrest us despite the warning issued to him not to contact the police if he wanted to see his wife alive. In order to avoid any surprise attack from the police, we decided to relocate to a place unknown to her husband.

    “As we started to move out of the place, the vigilance men on duty saw us and suspected us. When they asked us to identify ourselves, the woman shouted: “They are kidnappers! Save me! They have a gun! As she was shouting, the vigilance men locked the tube and tyre, making the car to be motionless. Before we knew it, three of my members had dashed into the bush and disappeared. Those of us who could not escape were arrested and handed over to the police in Epe and later to Akodo Police Station before we were later transferred to SARS. SARS operatives later arrested Olalekan.

    “It was by the grace of God that I survived the beatings from vigilance men. I did not know that I would survive because they beat Ramon and I like antelopes who had missed their way. They used iron and hard wood to hit us all over the body, not minding whether we would die or not. We were bleeding profusely before they handed us over to the police.”

    The third suspect, Olalekan Apena (27), said it was only one operation that he participated in. Said he: “We were six in number. When the woman shouted that we were kidnappers, I knew that the vigilance men would come after us and could slaughter all of us if we allowed them to capture us. As she was shouting, I jumped out of the car into the bush and ran for my dear life.

    “Unfortunately, my colleagues who were arrested were handed over to SARS. I became afraid and did not know where to run to. I was arrested in my house after I had spent three days at Awoyaya”.

     

  • ‘Subsidy thieves not behind minister’s mum kidnap’

    Controversy has continued to trail the release of the mother of Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Prof Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala.

    Commissioner of Police in Delta State Ikechukwu Aduba yesterday contradicted the minister, who had said that those against the oil subsidy probe were behind her mother’s abduction.

    Prof Kamene Okonjo was abducted from her husband’s palace at Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government on December 9 by a 10-man gang. She was released six days after.

    According to Aduba, the information leading to the killing of the alleged master- mind was credible and genuine.

    The 35 year-old kidnap kingpin, Nwazor Nwose aka Bolaji, allegedly involved in the abduction, was killed in Asaba, the state capital, after a gun battle with security operatives.

    He said the police, acting on a tip-off, tracked the suspect to his hideout in Asaba.

    Aduba said the suspects arrested would be arraigned in court next week, stressing that the police was closing in on three other accomplices residing in Anambra State.

    He identified the three as Nonso, Chiboy and Chukwura.

    His words: “There is a raging controversy over the true circumstances surrounding the abduction of the mother of the Finance Minister.

    “We try to be careful in doing our job.

    “But we stand by our earlier position that the mastermind involved in the kidnap of Prof Okonjo is credible and genuine.

    “The mastermind is a notorious criminal whose death has brought relief to Asaba residents. We stand by this position.”

     

  • Police rescue kidnap victim in Ebonyi

    The Ebonyi State Police Command yesterday rescued one Mr. Franklin Ajah suspected to have been kidnapped by a group of armed men at Ugwuachara area in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    Ajah was said to have been abducted while inspecting his building project in the area. Ajah, according to sources close to the family, was later found yesterday, in a house at Mgbukobe area of the town after an alleged undisclosed ransom was paid by the family.

    When contacted, Mr Sylvester Igbo, the State Police Public Relations Officer, explained that when the command got wind of the case, its men swung into action and effected several arrests.

    “We employed the ‘Judges Rule’ system where several suspects are arrested in connection with a case and screened to ascertain the real culprits.

    “We arrested most people living inside the building and neigbourhood but after screening, we released those not connected with the kidnapping case. We, however, detected two persons who were connected directly to the case. So, after full investigations are concluded, they will be charged to court,” he said.

    The police spokesman could not, however, confirm whether ransom was paid for the victim’s release, though sources said it was paid.

    Igbo assured citizens of the state of the command’s readiness to provide them with adequate security, especially during the yuletide.

    “We will depend on information from the public to succeed in this task, as such information would be made confidential,” he said.

  • Police foil kidnap in Nnewi, five suspects held 

    Luck ran out of a six-man gang of kidnappers operating in two utility RAVA jeeps when they tried to abduct the owner of one of the biggest rental service providers in Nnewi, Chief Chico Anazodo.

    Anazodo was on his way back home after closing business by 7:30 pm when he noticed that the two jeeps were following him.

    The gang reportedly scaled his fence, and Anazodo sensing danger to his life scaled another fence of his neighbour, having known the terrain and disappeared to report to the Nnewi Special Anti-Robbery Squad who cordoned off the city and later arrested five of the suspected kidnappers while one allegedly escaped.

    Officials of the SARS Nnewi confirmed the kidnap attempt but said they would not comment further until investigations are concluded.

    The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Raphael Uzoigwe, was driving when this reporter tried to get confirmation of the report.

     

  • ‘More kidnap cases likely this season’

    ‘More kidnap cases likely this season’

    President of Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu, and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) for Lagos and Ogun, Mr. Mamman Tsafe, have said kidnapping thrives because it is a source of easy cash.

    Ekhomu said more high profile kidnap incidents are likely to be recorded this Xmas season.

    Tsafe also attributed the high rate of kidnapping to payment of ransom by relatives of the abducted.

    Tsafe told reporters in Abeokuta that it was important for relatives of victims to trust the police and show understanding in the rescue operations.

    Tsafe, who was in Abeokuta as part of his routine visit to formations under his commands, said: “When you pay ransom to kidnappers you are only telling them that they are in the right business. We implore relatives to believe in us rather than discuss with kidnappers.’’

    In a statement yesterday, Ekhomu said kidnapping was now preferred by criminal syndicates as low risk but high-profit venture.

    He said children of rich Nigerians on holidays could also be targeted by kidnappers as a way to make easy money. He said parents should caution their wards on being security conscious this Christmas.

    Ekhomu said kidnappers preferred their trade as it did not carry the high risk that was involved in bank robbery, home invasion and car-jacking.

    The security expert said several vulnerabilities were exploited by the kidnap gang in the abduction of Prof. Kemana Okonjo in Ogwashi Uku, Delta State. He said the absence of a capable guardian (policeman, security guard or vigilante) was quite unfortunate. He also said the occupants of the compound did not display security awareness as they did not observe the attackers who were said to have been lurking around the entrance of the king’s palace.

    Ekhomu said: “This dreadful criminal act was foreseeable and preventable.” He said prominent Nigerians should conduct kidnap risk assessment for their relations in their villages.

    He added: “If the probability of victimisation was high, then one must act to strengthen the target against attack. The target-hardening measures include hiring security personnel to provide access control, installation of security technology, including CCTV surveillance systems and intruder alarm systems, including installation of vehicle tracking and personal tracking equipment and risk avoidance by temporarily relocating from the village.”

    He urged vigilance on the part of parents in major urban areas, such as Lagos, Ibadan, Benin City and Port Harcourt.

    Tsafe called for the cooperation of relatives of kidnapped victims as well as public-spirited individuals in the fight against kidnappers.

    He said it was important for citizens to provide information that could help the police in tracking down not just the kidnappers, but also other criminals in the society.

    The AIG said that Lagos and Ogun commands had been adequately equipped to tackle the menace of armed robbers, and to make both states safe for all and sundry during the Yuletide period.

    “We understand that the government of Ogun is making roads, and banks are relocating; we are adequately prepared and I will not like to disclose our strategies.

    “In addition to our normal routine patrols of banks and other strategic places, we also have taken some measures to check criminals and make our people sleep with their eyes closed.”

    He stated that some suspects had been arrested in connection with the killing of five policemen in Ogun in November, adding: “they are giving us very useful information that could lead to more arrests’’.

    “They have confessed that their gang had killed more than 11 policemen across the country, but we don’t want to talk too much for now,’’ he said.

    Tsafe urged residents to go about their normal duties, saying that the police were on top of the security situation in both states.

     

  • Recent cases of kidnap

    •Popular actor, Pete Edochie was kidnapped on Sunday, Aug 16, 2009 in

    Onitcha, was released on August 17

    •Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof Hope Eghagha was kidnapped in Asaba on September 30 this year and released on October 15

    •Wife of Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Muibat Salaam was kidnapped on October 9, this year in Ejigbo and rescued on October 13.

    •Footballer, Mikel Obi’s father, Michael Obi was kidnapped on August 12, 2011 in Jos, and found in Kano on August 22.

    •Super Eagle star, Christian Obodo was seized in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State on June 9 this year and rescued by security operatives on June 10.

    •Vice Chancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Prof Cyprian Onyeji was abducted on August 15 this year and later found Igbariam area of area of Anambra State on August 23.

    •Former Chief Medical Director of University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Eugene Okpere was abducted on November 6, 2010.

    •The daughter of Senator Nimi Barigha-Amange, Mrs. Diepreye Dagi Darego kidnapped on July 27 this year in Port-Harcourt was rescued on July 28.

    •Folasade, wife of the lawmaker representing Ijebu North-East State Constituency in Ogun State, Samson Onademuren was kidnapped December 4 this year, in Ijebu Ode

    •Pa Samuel Uduaghan, first cousin of Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan was abducted on June 13 this year in Asaba, was released on June 16.

    •Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Professor Michael Ibadin, was abducted on April 6 2010 by unknown gunmen,

    Some other people kidnapped recently include:

    •Tobechukwu Ochei, a younger brother to the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly; Victor Ochei;

    •Mrs. Zokumor, a sister to Godsday Orubebe, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs

    •Madam Suzanne Elumelu, 80, mother of former Group Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu.

    •Wife of the Commissioner for Basic Education in Delta State, Prof. Patrick Muoboghare.

    •Former chairman of Aniocha South Local Government Area, Delta State, Emmanuel Sorokwu

    •Markson, son of the Secretary to the State Government, Ovuozorie Macaulay

  • Okonjo: Security lapses led to my mum’s abduction – Son

    Okonjo: Security lapses led to my mum’s abduction – Son

    One of the children of the Okonjo family, Mr Onyema Okonjo, on Monday blamed security lapses for the kidnap of his mother, Prof. Kanenne Okonjo.

    Kanenne (82), is the mother of the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

    Onyema told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta that his mother was kidnapped on Sunday at her residence between 12 noon and 1 p.m. by 10 young men.

    “They came in two green Golf cars and it all happened very quickly.

    “I think there were definitely some lapses in terms of security. It is not what it should have been, the people that were supposed to have been here were not here.

    “This gave them the opportunity to do what they wanted to do, but at the end of the day; we really have to be prayerful.

    “I think it is really a sad reflection of where we are as a society,” Onyema, the sixth in the line of seven children of the Okonjos,  said

    He wondered why an octogenarian woman, a grand mother and great grand mother should be kidnapped.

    Onyema said that his father, Prof. Chukwuka Okonjo, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku and Okonjo-Iweala were on their away to Ogwashi-Uku when the incident happened.

    When contacted, the Commissioner of Police in Delta, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba, said that this was not the time to trade blames.

    He, however, promised that any officer indicted would be punished.

    Aduba said that in every case of kidnapping, there was always an insider, adding that investigation was on to unravel the situation and free Kanenne unhurt.

    “We have been holding meetings with the governor and we have sent out our men to comb every nook and cranny and I am sure we will get her out unhurt,’’ Aduba said.

    NAN reports that there was a large number of security personnel at the residence of the Okonjos at the time of filling this report.

  • Tension in Anambra over kidnap of businessman

    There was tension yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, following the abduction of a businessman, Raph Azolo, and the shooting of the police officer in charge of the Special Investigation Bureau (SIB), Chukwuma Omeri, a Superintendent of Police (SP).

    Azolo is the owner of Radopin, the biggest supermarket in Awka.

    He was reportedly abducted on Tuesday night in the town.

    The abductors have not contacted anyone since the incident.

    Omeri was also shot same day when he was driving in his Mercedes Benz car on Zik Avenue at 8pm.

    He was said to have run into a five-man armed gang who stopped him and dragged him out of the car.

    The assailants reportedly shot him in the legs, though he did not resist them.

    He is receiving treatment at a hospital in the town with a heavy security presence around the hospital.

    Police spokesman Raph Uzoigwe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the incident yesterday.

    He said the abductors had not contacted anyone since the incident happened.

    Uzoigwe said the command had deployed more men on the roads, especially the flash points, to rescue the victim.

    Omeri was said to have been called to the Bar last week after successfully completing his Law programme.

    It was learnt that since the transfer of the former Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the Central Police Station in Awka, Kingston Irozuru, crimes, especially kidnappings, have increased in the town.

    The wife of a former Anambra State Accountant-General was kidnapped on Monday at Umuokpu Awka. She has not been released.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, noted that “since the removal of the former DPO, crimes have increased in Awka and the police seem to have lost the city to criminals. This area needs a crack team, like we had when Irozuru was here”.

    No ransom had been demanded by the abductors of both victims.

  • Kidnap victim dies three days after release

    A 65-year-old kidnap victim, Mr. Paul Odili Chima, has died three days after he was released by kidnapers.

    The late Chima, who was the Chairman of the Delta State chapter of the Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria (LECAN) and President of Aboh Development Union (ADU), was abducted in Asaba, the Delta State capital, by gunmen.

    He was freed one week later, after N1.5 million was reportedly paid as ransom.

    It was gathered that the victim complained of pains, following the torture he was subjected to by his captors.

    A close family source said: “Elder Chima died three days after his release by the kidnappers. Before his death, he complained of pains all over his body and was nursing a gunshot wound that was inflicted on him by his abductors.”

    There has been an upsurge of abductions in Delta State lately, with the kidnap of former Super Eagles’ mid-fielder, Christain Obodo; Commissioner for Higher Education Prof. Hope Eghagha and the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya, among others.