Irate Youths Kill Two Kidnappers in Kwara

. Police arrest suspected ritualist

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Irate youths in Shiya community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State at the weekend killed two dare-devil kidnappers who have been terrorising the people of the community for past few months.

In another development, operatives of the Kwara State Police Command at the weekend nabbed a suspected ritualist for allegedly trying to use a 10-year-old boy for money rituals in Ilorin, the state capital.

The angry youths were said to have also burnt the two exotic cars allegedly  owned by one of the kidnappers, found at the house of the kidnapper.

It was gathered that the suspected kidnappers were said to have called one man in the town that he should make himself available at a place or else he would be kidnapped.

After the alleged threat on the man, the suspects were said to have kidnapped the man and demanded the sum of N20million ransom or else he will be killed.

Sources close to the town told journalists in Ilorin over the weekend that the kidnapped man was said to have told the kidnappers that he would not be able to pay the huge ransom because he had spent all his money on his wife who  had travelled to Saudi Arabia for this year Hajji exercise.

It was learnt that the man was said to have begged them that he would only raise a sum of N10million for them, which they agreed.

It was at this point that the suspected kidnappers told the man to tell his relatives to bring the N10million ransom to a place called Sandilo area on Benin Republic road in Shiya town around 12 midnight of last  Thursday and put the money inside a drainage point in front  of the filling station in the area.

Sources added that the relatives of the kidnapped man were said to have ‘marked’ all the N10million before they took the money to the place where they would collect the money.

It was further learnt that in the early hours of last Thursday morning, one of the suspected kidnappers was said to have gone to the place where the money was dropped since his residence  was so closed to the point of collection.

Sources also said that after he got the N10million from the drainage where the relatives of the kidnapped man had   dropped the money, the suspected kidnapper was said to have taken the money to one of the POS centres in the town to help him deposit the money into his account.

THISDAY further learnt that the relatives of the kidnapped man were said to have given the POS centre the snapped picture of the ‘marked’ money and this led the owner of the POS centre to call the relatives of the kidnapped man so as to confirm the marked money, and this prompted the POS man to inform the police station at Shiya town and the kidnapper was said to have been arrested.

After interrogation, according to the police sources at the town, the suspect was said to have told the police that he has a leader who was also subsequently arrested and detained at the police station.

This, however, led the police at Shiya town to inform the men of the Nigerian Army at Kosubosu, the headquarters of Baruten LGA to support the police in its investigations on the issue.

It was gathered that the army officers were said to have joined in the investigations and visited the houses of the two kidnappers and discovered that several millions of naira were kept on the ceiling roof of one of the kidnappers while several millions of naira and dangerous ammunition being allegedly used by the gang leader to operate were discovered in his house.

Sources said that the suspects were later taken to Shiya police station for detention and the army officers were said to have returned to Kosubosu and promised to come back next day.

Sources added that the irate youths of the town were said to have mobilised themselves  to the Shiya police station and drove away the policemen on duty and brought the two suspects outside and  meted out capital punishment on them until they were confirmed dead.

THISDAY further gathered that the Chief Imam  of the town was said to have arranged for the burial of the suspected kidnappers .

However, a senior police officer, who sought anonymity at the state Police Command, who confirmed the incident said that the men of the Police Command have commenced full investigations to the incident.

Meanwhile, operatives of the Kwara State Police Command at the weekend nabbed a suspected ritualist for allegedly trying to use a 10-year-old boy for money rituals in Ilorin, the state capital.

THISDAY checks revealed that the incident happened at Abab Oke-Foma area of Ilorin, the state capital.

It was learnt that the suspect was said to have lured the boy who happened to be a pepper seller into his house on the pretext he wanted to buy pepper from him without knowing that he wanted to use him for money ritual.

Sources close to the area said that the suspected ritualist was said to have covered the face of the boy with cloth before slaughtering the boy.

The people of the area who were said to have been monitoring the suspect moved into his room and arrested him and took him to police station.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, who confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday.

She said the incident occurred in the Abab Oke-Foma area of Ilorin, the state capital.

The statement said: “It was reported that a 10-year-old boy, Akeem Nurudeen, a resident of Abab area Abayawo, Ilorin, was hawking pepper when he was lured into a room by a suspect identified as Isiaka Adeniyi, 46, from Ifedapo Community, Oke-Foma area in Ilorin.

“The suspect allegedly lured the victim under the pretext of buying pepper, but instead covered the victim’s face with cloth and attempted to slaughter him.

“Thanks for the swift action of vigilant community members, the suspect was apprehended and brought to the station. “Preliminary investigation is currently underway, and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for thorough and discreet investigation.”