Operatives from the Ekiti State Police Command have detained suspected kidnappers of students and staff from Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Emure Ekiti.
According to the Police, one of the nine suspects was shot and killed when the gang engaged operatives in a gunfight while parading the suspects before the media on Friday night at the Command headquarters in Ado Ekiti.
Recall that the gunmen On January 29, 2024, abducted some schoolchildren and teachers in the school bus along Emure–Eporo Road while returning to Eporo after closing from school.
The victims, it would be recalled, were five students, three female teachers and a driver.
The bus driver was later killed by the gunmen, who released the remaining eight persons after a ransom of N15million was allegedly paid by the families of the victims.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Abutu Sunday, while parading the suspects said police received a credible intelligence that some armed men were planning to kidnap expatriates in a dairy farm in Ikun Ekiti.
The spokesperson said the police mobilised to the farm and arrested one Abubakar Aliyu, who was on a mission to spy on the location of the expatriates.
He noted that a member of the group identified as Ayuba was shot dead during a gun duel when policemen were attempting to make an arrest, adding that the phone used to demand ransom for the release of the abducted pupils and teachers had been retrieved.
READ ALSO: Police Nab Most Wanted Abuja Kidnapper After Wike’s N20m Bounty, Rescue Two Victims
He said, “In our relentless and deliberate efforts to rid the state of criminal elements, especially kidnappers, and the quest to ensure the arrest of the hoodlums behind the killing of two traditional rulers in Ikole-Ekiti and the kidnapping of some school children and their teachers in Emure-Ekiti as well as other kidnapping incidents in the state, the Command Rapid Response Squad (RRS) commenced a thorough investigation and operation, and arrested eight members of a kidnapping syndicate and neutralised one.
“After the arrest of Abubakar Aliyu, the leader of the kidnapping gang, identified as one Sumo Karami, sent two vigilante members, one Saliu Ibrahim, and one Umaru Saliu, to secure the bail of the arrested gang member from police custody.
“The two vigilante members were arrested, and they led the RRS operatives to Oro-Ago town, where one Mohammed Bashiru, the leader of Miyetti Allah vigilante in Oro-Ago, Kwara State, was arrested.
“During interrogation, Bashiru revealed that he is a relative of Sumo Karami, who is the leader of a dreaded kidnapping gang, and that Abubakar Aliyu is one of his gang members who have been terrorising and kidnapping innocent citizens with AK47 rifles and other dangerous weapons.
“Initial investigations revealed that Sumo Karami and his gang members were responsible for the kidnapping of the pupils and their teachers in Emure-Ekiti on 29th January 2024.
“Effort also led to the arrest of two other gang members, namely: Yahaya Jubril and Usman Garba in Owo forest, Ondo State.”
