Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command on Saturday, September 24 invaded the hideout of kidnappers who have been terrorizing the Long Bridge part of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in recent times, and arrested one member of the kidnap gang, while a kidnap victim Sheu Anafi was rescued unhurt.
It was gathered that the kidnappers capitalized on the traffic logjams on the Long Bridge as a result of the ongoing rehabilitation work being carried out around Kara cattle market part of the expressway by Julius Berger.
Following the deployment of policemen on the Long Bridge, the kidnappers resorted to waylaying motorists who use the earth roads running parallel to the expressway.
A statement released by SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, spokesperson of the state police command, said a report was lodged at Warewa Police divisional headquarters by a commercial driver, that while he was coming from Ilorin in his Ford car with registration number LRN 596 ZY, loaded with seven passengers, he was attacked by armed men.
The driver said he was trying to avoid the traffic jam on the Long Bridge when he took the untarred road running parallel to the expressway. Unfortunately, armed bandits were laying ambush there and swooped on them.
He said he and his passengers opened the doors and fled in various directions.
He said when they all regrouped to continue their journey, it was discovered that one of the passengers by the name of Alhaji Sheu Anafi from Okeleele area of Ilorin had been abducted by the hoodlums.
“Upon the report, the Divisional Police Officer Warewa division, CSP Abdul Fatai Ogunsanya led a joint operation consisting of men of the command’s tactical teams, local Vigilantes, so safe corps, and OPC men for bush combing in search of the abducted man.
Their efforts yielded positive results when the hideout of the kidnappers was located and the security operatives engaged them in a gun battle.
At the end of the encounter, one of the kidnappers Ibraheem Abubakar who claimed to have come from Sabonganmu-Bompai road, Kano State, was arrested while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries, and the victim, 62 years old Sheu Anafi was rescued unhurt,” the statement read.
Oyeyemi added that the suspect had confessed to being a member of a seven-man gang terrorizing the stretch of the long bridge in recent times.
