A kidnapping suspect, Abdulahi Adamu, has revealed that he went into the kidnapping business to survive after his father was murdered by armed robbers.
Adamu, who was paraded alongside 30 other suspected criminals, including nine kidnappers, by the Ondo State security outfit, codenamed Amotekun in Akure, said: “I decided to be a kidnapper because of destiny.
“I don’t have a father anymore. My father was killed by armed robbers years back. After his death, life became difficult for me and my siblings. Our mother could not take good care of us. To survive became extremely difficult for me and my siblings. So, I decided to join the kidnapping business.
Adamu, who hails from Katsina State, said the operation was his first before he was apprehended by the personnel of Amotekun.
Recounting his experience in the den of his abductors, Bello, a farmer, said he was observing his 7 p.m., Muslim prayer at his residence in Akunnu-Akoko when about six armed men suddenly came to him, flogged him with a stick and ordered him to follow them into the forest.
“I was fed with small quantities of garri flakes without water for five days before I was rescued by the Amotekun Corps. Some of them were carrying guns and asked me to follow them. They led me into the forest. They later contacted my family asking for ransom so that they could release me. I was later rescued from them by men of the Amotekun Corps when they wanted to collect the ransom brought for them for my release.”
Speaking on the arrest, the state commander of the security outfit, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, confirmed that the suspects were arrested when they wanted to collect the ransom.
Adeleye said that his men, who posed as family members of the victim, arrested three of the suspects when they came for the ransom.
He added: “The three that were arrested led us to the other six suspects. So, we arrested nine of them and they’re going to be charged to court soon.”