How we kidnapped kids from churches – Confession of a suspect

For Gabriel Ogunsawe,  engaging in crime seemed the easiest way to come out of his unpleasant situations as he joined a notorious kidnap gang that specialises in kidnapping little children from church.

According to the 26-year-old father of one, who is currently cooling off in one of the dreaded cells at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos; he had participated in three different kidnappings of children. He stated that his first operation was successful but luck ran out on him on his second attempt.  He was arrested, arraigned in court and remanded in Kirikiri prisons for about a year. But no sooner than he got his freedom, he took to the same crime again, he was never twice lucky.

Speaking to Crime Guard, Ogunsawe said: “I am from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State.  I am a National Diploma, Accounting student of Lagos State Polytechnic. I was arrested because I was involved in the kidnap of a young child of about four years from Amazing Grace Church in Palm groove area. I was introduced into kidnapping business by a friend called Olayinka.

“I have known him for over six years.   It was Olayinka who came up with the kidnapping idea.   My role was to collect the ransom from the parents of the victim. This is not the first time we have engaged in kidnapping of little children.   In fact, I have engaged in three kidnappings.   The first one was successful while the last two were not.
I was arrested after the second kidnapping while attempting to cash the ransom at the bank but my friend Olayinka, escaped. I was in Kirikiri for almost a year before I was released. When I returned from prison, I was jobless when Olayinka came and lured me into it again.

Their mode of operation
“Normally,  Olayinka goes into any church of his choice on Sunday morning, sits like a member inside the church and monitors the activities and movement of worshippers in the church.   When he is certain that he can lure a child out of the church premises unnoticed,  he quickly lures the child with biscuit or toys.  After successfully abducting the victims, he takes them to another big church located very far from the church where the children were kidnapped.

We never killed or sold any child. We only keep the child for a day and ensure we get whatsoever ransom we need to get from the victim’s parents.   We ensure that we get the ransom first thing on Monday morning before the child will be seen. He abandons a large envelope addressed to the pastor in the church with a phone number. Once they contact us through the number,   we send  bank details to the parents of the victim.

“The first kidnap operation was in a Redeemed Christian Church in Shomolu area and it was successful.   We were paid N300,000 but Olayinka gave me N70,000 only, as he said we incurred some expenses, that was why he took the larger sum. Unfortunately,  the second operation was unsuccessful as I was arrested, arraigned in court and remanded in prison from June 2013 to January 10 2014.

Honestly,  I didn’t need anyone to tell me to stay away from crime after my release from the prison but I didn’t have a choice.   When I was released, I started squatting with my cousin, Akorede, in Akilo Street close to Lady-Lak area.  That was after I was ejected from the rented apartment where I lived because I was unable to pay the rent. My wife and son had to go live with her parents in Ota.
“This last operation, Olayinka initially, asked the victim’s parents to pay N700,000 but, they said they will pay N250,000.   They later sent N3,000 airtime to Olayinka.   He transferred N1,500 to my line the next day after I confronted him for collecting the ransom behind me. Because I was broke, I transferred N750 to my cousin Akorede, who I was squatting with.

We used an old registered line of mine for the transaction.   It was that line that he used to transfer the air time to my main line.  It was through the transferred airtime that Akorede was arrested,  unknown to me. It was through his sister, Jumoke,  that   I was eventually arrested while I was sharing handbill.   Akorede and his sister Jumoke,  are innocent and know nothing about the kidnap.
“I have a son who is about three years seven months old and I won’t want him to be kidnapped because I know the trauma we subject the families to when we kidnap their children. There was a time when I had to speak with the mother of the child we kidnapped.  I could feel her pain and broken heart from her voice.

My wife doesn’t know that I am into kidnapping business. My mum is late but my father is alive.  He doesn’t care.  I am married and I am a tiler. To my wife, I am very sorry to put you through all this shame and disappointment. My family members are all disappointed.   No one has come to see me since I was arrested.  Right now, I feel so bad about my actions, but I was so desperate to get out my unpleasant situation,”he stated.
Source:Vanguard

2 militants arrested with explosives in Delta

OPERATIVES of the Department of State Security (DSS) and a crack team of Naval personnel from the Nigerian Navy Ship, NSS Delta, have arrested two suspected militants with explosive devices, detonators and other dangerous items.

Already, the suspects, Emmanuel and Monday (surnames withheld) have been brought before the Magistrate Court 2 in Warri on a five-count charge.
Emmanuel also goes by the nickname Gen. Thunder Opuowei, a.k.a The River Don. Security sources accused Emmanuel  of attacking oil vessels belonging to major oil companies and collecting huge sums of money running into millions of naira from them.

He was also said to specialise in issuing threat messages through the phone number, 08170453255 and demanding upward of N50million from some company executives in Warri. He allegedly threatened to blow up their vessels or bomb their tank farms if they failed to meet his demands.
Daily SUN learnt that through petitions from victims of Pathfinder to the Security agencies, a crack team of Naval Officers and SSS operatives were able to track him down in Warri and on searching his car, several lethal weapons were allegedly discovered.

Security sources said on interrogation, Emmanuel named a colleague, Monday  who was also picked up and on the strength of their statements to the security agents they were charged to court. They were ordered to be remanded in Prison custody and are currently cooling off at the Federal Prisons, Okere, Warri, now under tight military guard.

Pathfinder and Bomadi were charged under the Criminal Code Law Cap. C21 Vol.1, laws of Delta State 2006 and the Delta State Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Terrorism Law, 2013 respectively.
Source:The Sun

Father poisons baby to divorce wife

A 41-day-old baby, Zainab Olajide, has died after she was allegedly poisoned by her father, Kazeem Olajide, in a desperate attempt to divorce his wife.

The incident happened at about 7am on Friday at Toluwalase Estate, Ijoko-Abule, in the Lemode area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the mother, Abosede Ogundare, had left Zainab with Kazeem to sweep the compound only to come back and met the baby with foams gushing out from her mouth.

It was learnt that Ogundare alerted neighbours to the incident having found a bottle containing pesticide with her husband.

Zainab was said to have been rushed to a hospital in the community, where she eventually died.

Our correspondent learnt that the suspect, who hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State, attempted to flee, but was held by residents, while the landlord of the house reported the case to the monarch of the community, Oba Solomon Sokunbi.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the father was handed over to policemen at the Agbado Police Division after he confessed to the crime before the monarch.

The couple’s residence was locked up when our correspondent visited the community on Tuesday.

A resident, who identified himself only as Biodun, said Kazeem had been threatening to divorce his wife before the baby’s untimely death.

He said, “He doesn’t love the woman and has been trying to divorce her. He poisoned the innocent baby to actualise his mission. They recently moved to this estate. She was their only child.”

The landlord of the house, who did not want his name in print, said the suspect had denied being Zainab’s father prior to the incident.

He said, “Three days before the incident, Kazeem (Olajide) was looking for a pair of his slippers. When he did not find it on time, he started raining curses. I called him by his daughter’s name, and tried to caution him, but he warned me not to call him by her name again. It was when the incident happened that I realised he might have intentionally killed the child.”

Sokunbi, the Oba of Ijoko-Lemode, said Kazeem owned up to the act, claiming that he was pushed by the devil. He said he had been following the case to ensure that the suspect was brought to justice.

He said, “It was the landlord who came to report the case to me and I directed my chiefs to bring him and the wife to the palace. I asked the husband and he confessed. He said it was the handiwork of the devil.

“I called the police from the Agbado Police Division to arrest him. They said he had been transferred to the state command headquarters. I have been following the case. This is a pure murder case and I want the police to duly prosecute the suspect and let him face the law.”

The monarch added that Kazeem’s wife told him in the presence of his chiefs that she saw the bottle with him two days before the incident.

He said, “The woman thought the bottle contained herbs. She said she left the child with him to sweep the compound, only to return and met Zainab gasping and foaming in the mouth. She said she smelled pesticide in the baby’s mouth.”

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed that the case had been transferred to the command headquarters, adding that Zainab’s remains had been deposited in a mortuary.

Adejobi said, “The corpse of the baby has been deposited in a mortuary. The case has been transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation for further investigation.

“We have the suspect with us and he is going to be properly investigated. He and others found culpable in the course of our investigation will be charged to court.”

Source:Punch

20-month-old stolen at naming ceremony

An 20-month-old toddler, Opeyemi Ogundele, was, on Sunday, stolen at a naming ceremony in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The incident, it was learnt, happened at Ilugun Inuosegba community, Akorede Estate, Mile 2 area in Abeokuta North Local Government Area of the state.
When Tribune Online visited the community, members of the community were seen in front of a three-bedroom bungalow belonging to one herbalist, Chief Olansile Ifayemi.

The community members, mostly youths, vandalised the building and allegedly found different fetish items in the building.

Pictures of white people, pots with different names written on them, traditional paraphernalia, women underwears and children's clothes were seen in one of the rooms within the building.
Men of the Ogun State Police Command were on ground to ensure that there was no breakdown of law and order.

Giving account of how she discovered that her son was missing, Mrs Elizabeth Ogundele said she was preparing for her niece's naming ceremony when she found out her son was missing.
The 26-year-old mother told newsmen that she had gone to celebrate with her brother, Olusola Osunleke, when the incident happened.

"I was helping my brother's wife get ready for the ceremony when I noticed that my son was nowhere. I searched for him in and around the house because some tenants said they saw him playing ball, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I ran outside the house into the community still searching and that was when I encountered two guys at Chief Ifayemi's house. I asked if they had seen my son, they denied and started giggling, so I left," she said.

She added that the naming ceremony could not go on as planned as the whole community was thrown into confusion over the missing child.

Foods prepared for the ceremony were left untouched as the ceremony was suspended.
The state Police Commissioner, Abdulmajid Ali, said there was no link between the disappearance of the toddler and the discovery of the suspected ritualists' den.

Ali assured that the police would investigate the‎ matter and promised to make its findings public.
He said, "Actually, the boy was kidnapped yesterday but the site that was discovered has no relationship with the boy and other human parts that were found at the site.

"Already, we have commenced investigation on the matter‎ and we will let you see what really happened when we finish our investigations."
Source:Punch

We force no one; only greedy people fall victim —Suspected

A 32-year-old lady, Animasaun Rukayat, narrowly escaped death recently, after she fell into the hands of suspected fraudsters cum ritualists when she unknowingly boarded a cab being used by the gang for operation.

She was saved through the quick intervention of the Ambush Squad of the Oyo State Police Command which happened to stumble on the taxi and its occupants while the lady was in distress.
Three suspects, including Etiba Ekwueme (44), Israel Anthony (42) and Anwanolue Cosmas (45), were however nabbed.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Musa Katsina, while speaking with Crime Reports, said that Ekwueme and Anthony, both  indigenes of Isiala Ngwa, Abia State; as well as Cosmas Anwanolue, an indigene of Okigwe, Imo State were arrested on June 23, 2015 by the Command’s Ambush Squad along Iwo Road-Challenge expressway, after they abducted Rukayat. The lady reportedly boarded the commercial taxi at Iwo Road.

He revealed that they were members of a criminal syndicate whose modus operandi was to go in commercial cabs and pretend to be taxi drivers in a bid to lure unsuspecting victims into their web. Katsina stated further that before the suspects’ arrest, Rukayat was being taken to an unknown destination, allegedly for ritual purposes.

“While in transit, one of the suspected fraudsters strangled the passenger in an attempt to make her unconscious or kill her but her agonising cry attracted the attention of a nearby Ambush Squad which came to her rescue,” the police commissioner stated further.

According to Katsina, vehicles being used for such criminal purposes but which were recovered from the suspects include Honda Concerto with registration number BL 860 BWR, Nissan Sunny with registration number AE 952 LND, Volkswagen Golf car with registration number LSD 515 AW, Hyundai Elantra with registration number AE 700 JND and Nissan Micra cars with registration number FST 426 GQ and EGB 480 XA. Some fake dollar notes were also reportedly recovered from the suspects.

In an interview with Crime Reports, Ekwueme denied involvement in fraudulent acts but admitted that he gave Anthony money to buy fuel on the day he was arrested. “I am a titled chief but I am not the chairman of fraudsters as being claimed by other suspects. It is true that I gave Anthony N1,000 to buy fuel on the day he was arrested. I did not send him to go and do anything like fraud or ritual.”
Anthony however confessed to being a ‘guy man’, the nomenclature given to fraudsters among themselves. “I used to work as a commercial driver in a taxi. The taxi belongs to one Emma, my brother. Actually, I am guy man. That is what we call those of us involved in defrauding members of the public by trick. I started the work three years ago and I was introduced to it by Emma.
“Our business is popularly referred to as 419. Those who usually fell victim to our antics were those who were greedy; who wanted to reap where they did not sow.

“We were usually three that would move any time we wanted to work. One of us would drive the taxi being used while two others would act as passengers. What we normally did was to pick a passenger, and one of us, who would pretend to be a passenger also, would say that he stole his master’s money and a charm had been placed on it. He would express his desire to know a spiritualist who could destroy the charm.

“If the mugun (passenger) showed interest, we would go to one of us who would act as a pastor. He would give the bill to buy things needed for the charm to be rendered impotent. The mugun would be asked to pay his share.

“We have many groups and particular days we go out to work. Each group has its chairman. The person who gives you money is your chairman, so on the day we were arrested, Ekwueme was our chairman, but he did not follow us. We don’t force people; we don’t harm them. We don’t use arms; our victims give in to us willingly.”

When asked whether he had not made enough money to leave the crime, Anthony replied that he did not have a personal car that could be used for the business. “Without a vehicle, you cannot go out. I only go if I have the chance. Money does not come regularly. The last work yielded just N7,000.”
“Just a few metres from the spot, the man who sat at the back with me grabbed my neck and started strangling me. I started shouting and out of nowhere, I saw a police van park beside the taxi and I was rescued,” Rukayat narrated.
Source:Tribune