Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a suspected kidnapper, Suleiman Seidu. Seidu, 33, who had allegedly kidnapped two residents of Kogi State for ransom, was said to be plotting the kidnap of a two-year-old when he was apprehended.
Punch Metro learnt that the suspect had contracted two of his friends to assist in the operation, when the police got wind of the plan. He was said to have been arrested in the Owode area of Ogun State on Friday.
A police source said a member of the RRS decoy team had infiltrated the kidnap gang.
He said, “We got a hint about the kidnap from one of the two persons that the prime suspect contracted. The man was not okay with the idea, so he came to tell us.
“A female member of the RRS decoy team joined the gang. She was given the job of taking care of members and the child after his abduction. For more than two weeks while the operation took shape, the investigator, pretending as an accomplice, got information from the prime suspect.
“The suspect told our mole that he had a motorcycle to aid him in the abduction of the boy, adding that the ransom would be N10m. He said the boy’s father was a landlord and a dealer in electrical appliances.”
After getting the nod of the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ilayasu, the RRS team was said to have swooped on the suspect in his Ogun home and apprehended him.
The Kogi State indigene, upon his arrest confessed to the crime, saying he needed the money to treat his ailing mother.
He said, “I had been monitoring the boy for two weeks. I observed that whenever the driver was taking him to school; he would first alight from the car to lock the gate because they didn’t have a gatekeeper in their house. Also, he takes him to school between 7am and 8am.
“What I planned was to kidnap the boy when the driver alighted from the car to close the gate and escape on a waiting motorcycle.
“I live in a room and parlour apartment, and I planned to keep him with me till his parents pay the ransom.
“I planned to demand N10m, but if his parents could not afford the whole money, I would have accepted N3m at the end of the day.
“I conceived the idea to kidnap him when I was left with no option because my mother is very ill at the moment.
“I just relocated to the area and didn’t know the nook and cranny very well. I thought of getting someone who knew the environment well to make the job easier for me.”
The father of the child, Udwu, who had no inkling of the looming danger, thanked the police for the proactive action.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the suspect would be charged to court upon the completion of investigation.
“The suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for further investigation,” she added.
