Police Parade Suspects Who Plotted to Kidnap Otedola

Dele Ogbodo in Abuja

The police have said they foiled an attempt by three suspects to kidnap Mr. Femi Otedola, a popular Lagos-based oil magnate.

In a statement made available to journalists wednesday in Abuja by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Donald Awunah, he said the three suspects, Ikechwuku Daniel, Adeyemi Kayode and Ayodele Temitayo, planned to demand N1 billion ransom from Otedola.

Parading the suspects at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) head office in Abuja, the police PRO said the arrest was achieved through the Inspector General of Police (IG)’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

Awunah said one Ikechukwu Daniel, 28, an indigene of Imo State who is the mastermind of the gang, was rusticated from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, due to cult related activities in 2010.

The statement further stated that Daniel, an ICT guru with mastery of computer applications, made damning revelations of their criminal exploits in the South-west region of the country, the statement added.

“Another member of the gang, 29-year-old Adeyemi Kayode, a serving officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and a native of Ojoo in Ibadan, Oyo State, serves as a Personal Assistant to the Commandant of the corps, Oyo State Command.

“The suspect took undue advantage of his office to obtain the mobile phone number and location of their victim. He hatched the plan on how to kidnap the businessman and make a demand of N1 billion ransom,” the statement revealed.

The third suspect, Ayodele Temitayo, a native of Oyo, in Oyo State, according to the statement, is the marksman and armourer of the gang, who claimed to have been dismissed from 213 Battalion of Nigeria Army in Maiduguri as a Private in 2015.

The suspects, the Force PRO, stated, made confessional statements revealing that they had successfully carried out several high profile kidnappings, adding that two AK47 rifles loaded with live ammunition were recovered from the gang.

While efforts are currently being intensified to apprehend other members of the gang and extend investigation to their other criminal activities, the IG, Ibrahim Idris, restated the commitment of the Force to clamp down on all criminal activities across the country.