Eleven alleged notorious kidnappers believed to be operating in the Edo/Kogi axis are now in the net of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Also in the DSS detention facility are five suspected terrorists operating between Kano and Yobe states and two fraudsters from Kano state.
They were all arrested by the department in what the organization’s spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, yesterday called its end-of-year operations .
Of note was the arrest of a woman suspected of masterminding the kidnap of her 10-year-old son in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.
She was arrested along with her friend,the DSS said.
The department, in a statement in Abuja, said it had burst a criminal gang said to specialize in monitoring and robbing visiting foreigners in luxury hotels in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It said:“In the past few weeks, a new criminal gang which specializes in robbing visiting foreign residents/customers of luxury hotels has been uncovered, in Abuja, FCT.
“For instance, on December 5, 2016, the gang robbed an expatriate in a highbrow hotel in Abuja and carted away his money and other valuables; however, acting on actionable intelligence, and with the support and cooperation of sister agencies and the hotel management, the DSS arrested one Ikechukwu Obadlegwu and Ikechukwu Joseph Eke.
“While Obadlegwu carried out surveillance on potential targets for the group, Eke is the kingpin and mastermind of the whole operation.
“Following this operation, the service has successfully recovered almost all the stolen items.”
Continuing, it said: ”Following the offensive against kidnappers and other criminals, the service apprehended the trio of Abubakar Musa, Ismail Musa and Suleiman Mainasara, on November 29, 2016, at Aduwawa in Benin City, Edo State.
“Prior to their arrest, they were members of a kidnap gang that terrorized commuters and residents of communities along the major highways between Edo and Kogi states.
“Similarly, on November 30, 2016, one Ibrahim Adamu and three of his associates, namely, Umar Abubakar, Ibrahim Salisu and Abdullahi Abubakar, were arrested at Ibillo village in Edo State; the quartet were part of a larger gang that specialized in the kidnap of people along the Edo-Kogi corridor.
“On December 20, 2016, at Katsina-Ala town in Benue State, another gang of suspected kidnappers, comprising one Ernest Benze, Terkura Tyokishir alias Mpoto, and Anun Aondona, identified as members of the Terwase Akwaza kidnap syndicate, were arrested for their complicity in kidnap incidents in the state.”
On the woman implicated in the kidnap of her 10-year-old son, the DSS said:”On December 28, 2016, about 0930 hours, at the Ben Kalio Housing Estate, Damaturu, Moh’d Yusuf Daya, a 10-year-old boy, was kidnapped; the kidnappers subsequently demanded for a ransom of five million naira ransom.
“However, about 19.20 hours same day, the service rescued Muhd Yusuf Daya at Potiskum town, Potiskum Local Government Area; the victim’s mother Barakat Daya and her friend, Rukaiya Danladi, have been arrested for culpability in the incident.
“Also at Gwaron Dutse, Kano Municipal, Kano State, Auwalu Abdullahi Yakassai, a notorious fraudster, was apprehended for allegedly defrauding Jaiz and Unity banks of N100 million and N50 million respectively.
“The service also arrested one Bashir Shuaibu on December 5, 2016 at Tsamiya village, Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State, for obtaining money from unsuspecting victims through threat messages. He was arrested while in the process of defrauding another victim.
“In continuation of the fight against terrorism, on November 30, 2016, three suspected Boko Haram fighters, namely, Samaila Muhammad, Sanusi Musa and Hudu Muhammad, were arrested at Dirbunde village of the Takai Local Government Area in Kano State.
“The trio had perfected plans to carry out a series of coordinated attacks with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in selected states of the North-West zone in the month of November, 2016 to disrupt festive activities during the end of year and the new year of 2017.
“In a related development, operatives of this service arrested Sani Digaru, along with one Mohammed Ali, on December 25, 2016, about 1315 hours, along Gombe-Dukku road, Gombe; Digaru was, however, fatally shot when he attempted to escape from arrest.
“The arrest was sequel to earlier intelligence that he was in possession of cash worth two million naira meant for the coordination of a terrorist operation in Yobe and Bauchi states,” the DSS stated while pledging its commitment to ensure the sustenance of peace and security.
