The acting Commissioner of Police, DCP Mamman B. Giwa, Divisional Police Officers and Tactical Commanders to go on the offensive, have arrested 7 suspected kidnappers, and recovered arms and ammunition.
Nigeriacrime.com learned that at about 1:32 Pm, a patrol team attached to Saminaka Area Command in conjunction with a hunters group in Lere LGA apprehended 25-year-old year Yusuf Idi along with six (6) others at Mariri Village in Lere LGA.
Confirming the arrest, the Spokesperson of the Kaduna Police Command, DSP Mohammed Jalige explained that during interrogation, the suspects confessed to have carried out a series of kidnappings, culpable homicide and armed robberies in the said area.
Jalige added that when an immediate search was conducted on the suspects, an AK 47 Rifle with 14 rounds of 7.62 X 39mm live ammunition, one locally fabricated long-range double-barrel gun used for expanding 12-guage live cartridges and one locally made pistol that uses .9mm live ammunition were recovered.
A preliminary investigation is ongoing and efforts have been intensified to recover more arms and ammunition.
However, the general area is presently calm and peaceful, while rigorous patrols and surveillance continue.
Meanwhile, the eight persons who were abducted last weekend by unknown armed men at Atamka community in Owukpa, Ogbadibo Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue State have been freed by their abductors.
It would be recalled that the victims were on Saturday and Sunday waylaid by their abductors and taken away while returning from church along Atamka/Ugbudu road linking Obollo Afor in Enugu State.
And among those abducted by the armed men was a security personnel who they whisked away with seven others.
It was gathered from a source in the area that the armed men had opened discussions with the families of the victims and demanded N500,000 ransom for the release of each of them.
He said, “They however released one of the abductees on Tuesday who fell ill while in their custody but insisted that ransom must be paid for the released of the others.”
The father of one of the victims, who spoke on condition of anonymity disclosed Wednesday that all the victims were released after the sum of N400,000 was raised by each of their families for the abductors.
He said, “We rallied around each other and raised the sum of N400,000 each from the sale of our farm produce and delivered it to them to secure the release of our people because we heard that some of them were already falling sick in the bush.
“So the claim in some quarters that the victims were rescued was not true, we paid to secure their release.”