Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan The upsurge in the wave of ransom kidnapping in Delta State has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of the leaders of the police Anti-Kidnapping Squad in the state by men of the force Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The unit head, Mr. Dickson Adeyemi, a chief superintendent of police (CSP), was arrested along with some members of the anti-kidnapping squad and taken from Asaba to Abuja for further interrogation about five days ago.
In a related development, a total of 98 persons have been arrested in connection with many cases of kidnapping and attempted kidnapping in Delta State since the beginning of this year.Those arrested and are at the moment being interrogated include 40 suspects each apprehended by the police and State Security Department (SSS), while the Army has also picked up 18 persons during patrols by its men in the last couple of days.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan disclosed this Wednesday while briefing newsmen on the state government’s intensified efforts to arrest the worrisome trend the problem of kidnapping has assumed in recent time in the state.Uduaghan described kidnappers as “greedy people who are common criminals”, debunking claims that some might have taken to kidnapping because of poverty or hunger. The governor also disclosed that a Christian pastor was in police net for his involvement in kidnapping.
The arrest of the pastor (names withheld) was made possible by the active support and cooperation of another Christian pastor in Warri, he said, adding that the kidnapper-pastor was actually found to have some kidnapped persons held in custody in the pastor’s residence when security operatives raided the place recently.
He said a man who carries arms and is asking for tens or hundreds millions of naira as ransom for the release of people he captured and held captive could “never be said to be driven by poverty or hunger.”
Rising from a special meeting with traditional rulers and community leaders across the state, Uduaghan also appealed for the maximum cooperation of all law abiding citizens, with both security and government officials in order to curb the situation and bring it under optimal control.
The governor, who admitted that the rampant cases of abduction by unidentified gunmen have posed a serious security challenge especially in the last few weeks, noted that security investigations have uncovered that a “lot of insider involvement” tended to have fueled the problem.
The governor, who admitted that the rampant cases of abduction by unidentified gunmen have posed a serious security challenge especially in the last few weeks, noted that security investigations have uncovered that a “lot of insider involvement” tended to have fueled the problem.
These “insider involvement”, he pointed out, included the collusion of members or relations of the family of the kidnap victims, domestic staff such as drivers and cooks as well as co-workers that either directly recruited the kidnappers or who often gave out information about the financial dealings and movement of the victims of kidnapping.
Similarly, some bad eggs within the various security agencies appeared to have compromised their positions by apparently aiding and abetting the criminals, Uduaghan further disclosed.
“The head of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad in the state has been arrested with his boys and taken to the CID headquarters for alleged involvement in kidnapping and related criminals activities,” Uduaghan disclosed.
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