₦airaland Forum

The police on Thursday confirmed the rescue of Mrs. A. Odumosu, one of the wives of retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Hakeem Odumosu, who was kidnapped by masked gunmen on January 16.

Mrs. Odumosu, the police said, was rescued around 6:45 am, at a creek in Ikorodu, adding that two of her kidnappers were killed in battle while the N10 million paid as ransom was recovered.

The woman was whisked away by the gunmen from her Aminu Street, Orange Estate residence at Arepo around 9:55 pm as she was about to drive into her compound in a Lexus Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

Her kidnappers, who exhibited mastery of the terrain, took her through the creeks into the Ishawo/Ikorodu forest, an area that has remained a haven for armed militants and bandits.

It was gathered that the kidnappers earlier demanded N40 million ransom but the amount was later negotiated downward and an amount paid as bait while detectives from Ogun State Police Command in collaboration with Intelligence and Technical experts from the Force Headquarters decoded their possible location.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi who confirmed her rescue in a statement, noted that the criminals were planning their next operation when operatives stormed their location inside the creek, adding that four Ak-47 rifles, three locally made single barrel rifles and ammunition of various calibers were also recovered.



Kidnapping at Arepo, Ibafo, Warewa, Fatola, Elepete, Ishawo, Ijede, Ijedodo, Epe, and environs had continued unabated for years no thanks to the difficulty in navigating the swampy terrains.

The above fact, coupled with the lack of swamp buggies to frequently pull down those mangroves to open up the creeks, as well as the easy access these criminals have to navigate the shallow waters into different communities without being chased by security operatives were also contributory factors.

Also, the fact that these communities play host to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) Systems 2B pipelines, made them a beehive of militants whose stock-in-trade was pipeline vandalism until they found kidnapping to be lucrative following the shutdown of the flow station in 2015.

Until their venture into senseless kidnappings, raping, and killing of innocent populace, the militants inhabited a world of their own.

They hoisted flags and dug boreholes with links to underground NNPC pipelines located kilometres away from where they raked in millions of naira daily.

The eventual suspension of the System 2B pipeline operation denied the criminals access to the oil millions, hence their resort to terrorising the residents, decimating their livestock, raiding shops, raping women and children, stealing money, kidnapping for ransom, and murdering some of the landlords in cold blood.

Aside from Mrs. Odumosu, a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) member in Warewa was also kidnapped last year while she was returning from service. There was also the case of the Isheri landlords- Kennedy Ucheagwu, Dr Omololu Bello, Fidelis Esan,g and trainer Olalere Olawale who were kidnapped from their estate in 2016.

Four junior secondary students of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla in Epe, Abu, Emmanuel Okonkwo, Jeremiah Rut,h and Isaac Adebisi as well as their Vice Principal, A.O. Oyesola, English teacher, Lukman Oyerinde, three women and a six-month-old baby, Toyosi Aboderin, Ogechi Maku, Toju Amorighoye and Funniyi Tayo Lawal (baby), were all abducted at Epe.

At Agbowa, Ikorodu, Alhaji Oyebanji Wasiu, Alhaji Isiaka Owolabi and Abiodun Adeniyi, all farmers, were kidnapped and their abductors, who collected N22 million ransom, killed Adeniyi afterwards.

An RCCG pastor, Kayode Bajomo, the Iba monarch, Oba Goriola Oseni, several landlords at Iba Housing Estate and three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS)-Funmi Ogunmefun, Oluwatimileyin Olusa and Deborah Akinayo, were also kidnapped by these gunmen whose enclave was in the creeks bordering Arepo/Ishawo/Epe and environs.

There were also security operatives including five policemen, nine operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and unspecified number of naval personnel who fell victims to these criminals.

Most of the security operatives, The Nation gathered, were killed and buried in shallow graves. However, no one has been able to confirm the locations of the graves nor have their bodies been returned to their families for proper burial.

Although these murderous gangs were initially suspected to be militants who fled the military onslaught from the oil-producing Niger Delta regions, revelations from some of the kidnapped victims who regained freedom showed that most of the gunmen were fleeing terrorists from the north discussed as herders.

Alluding to this fact on his X account while replying to a follower who urged the police to ensure the fleeing culprits were apprehended, Adejobi wrote: “We will. It’s not easy to navigate the swampy area/creeks. However, we have taken some steps in that regard. The men who carried out the rescue operation did well…”

MasterJayJay:
https://thenationonlineng.net/why-kidnapping-persists-in-arepo-ishawo-others/amp/

Omoawoke:
Kidnappers from South south people ,
I thought the military bombed them in that region… are they back again?

Forumites:
All these IPOB and ESN self.

uniquelyspecial:
All these craze people on Nairaland self