Fulani expressway kidnappers and robbers who operated and caused havoc along a Kogi State expressway, have been nabbed.
The
Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Kogi State Police Command had
a good reason to smile when it made a big haul and arrested over 25
suspected Fulani kidnappers and robbers who operated along Osara-Lokoja
Expressway, Kogi State under the cover of herding cattle for free range
grazing.
According
to Sun Sun, the Kogi Commissioner of Police, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu who
disclosed this development, commended the Commander of SARS, Supol Bimbo
Oyewole and his operatives, who stormed the hideout of the Fulani
herdsmen at Itobe and Adogo axis of Ajaokuta Local Government Area, Kogi
state.
Also,
he said that SARS operatives arrested the alleged kingpin armed robbers
and kidnappers in the area, Olobo Abdul with 10 members of his gang,
who operate Auchi-Okechi West and Osara-Lokoja Road.
According
to Inalegwu, the gang kidnapped a foreigner in January 2017, and held
him hostage in the bush until N1 million was paid to them as ransom.
The
police boss said that the Fulani gang had June 3, 2017 attacked a
passenger bus along the Osara-Lokoja and took some of the female
passengers to their hideout in the bush, where they raped them and also
collected N500,000 as ransom. They kidnapped and robbed another set of
bus passengers along the Kabba-Shoko road. They held the passengers for
three days, collected N1 million as ransom and raped the female victims.
Inalegwu
further revealed that the Fulani kidnappers and robbers masquerading as
herdsmen also abducted a man in Okene. They took the sum of N400,300
from the victim and held him for seven days before he was released.
In
the course of investigation, the SARS operatives arrested 23-year-old
Abubakar Bamo and Mohammed Sani, 25, who conspired to abduct one Alhaji
Buba at Adogo axis and he paid N1 million ransom after spending several
days in the custody of the kidnappers. The gang led the duo of Bamo and
Sani were alleged to have terrorized the entire community of Adogo and
Itobe in Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State.
Inalegwu
stated that the SARS team made another breakthrough in May 2017 when it
arrested Lawal Suleman Amdu and his gang. He said that the gang had
abducted over 10 victims and killed policemen on duty and stole their AK
47 rifles.
However,
he made heartwarming revelation that SARS operatives recovered police
AK 47 rifles and ammunition as well as pump-action guns. In the ensuing
exchange of gunshots between the police and the Fulani gang, one of the
members, Abubakar Mohammed, escaped to their camp in Obajana with bullet
wounds, where a nurse, Taiwo Oladiran, treated him and extracted
bullets from his body and was paid N30,000. Luck however ran out on her
and she was later arrested following a tip off. In a brief chat with
Sunday Sun, she said: “I
have been treating Fulani herdsmen whenever they were shot by
policemen. I will go and treat them in the Fulani camp at Obajana, Kogi
State.”
On
his part, Abubakar Mohammed said: “We are cattle rearers but we have
robbed several bus passengers along Okene, Osara/Lokoja and collected
all their money. We kidnapped some of them and held them in the bush,
where we raped the female passengers. There was a time the police killed
a member of our gang, but we re-grouped and started kidnapping anybody
we saw in the bush in Itobe and Adogo communities. We also raped the
female victims working in the farms.”
Bamo
and Sani who are being held at the SARS headquarters told Sunday Sun
that took special interest in killing policemen on duty and taking away
their AK 47 rifles which they used to carry out their operations.
Inalegwu
assured that the command would not rest on its oars. Rather it would
continue to prosecute the renewed war against kidnappers and armed
robbers.
He
said after investigations the suspects in custody would be charged to
court. He urged the people of Kogi to provide the police with useful
information to enable it combat Fulani kidnappers and robbers more
effectively.
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