Three new suspects have been arrested at
a suspected den of
kidnappers and ritual killers in the Obadeyi-Ijaiye
end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
Two of the suspects, a woman and a man,
allegedly disguised as mentally-challenged persons, but the latter was
said to have later confessed to being a member of a kidnap gang.
PUNCH Metro learnt that three
phones, an Automated Teller Machine card and two loaves of bread, were
recovered in a bag found with the woman, while the man had some clothes
in his bag.
It had been reported that the den, an uncompleted building, was
uncovered around 8am on Tuesday after a highway sweeper with the Lagos
State Waste Management Agency alerted residents to the voice of a
distressed woman in a drainage channel in the area.
Our correspondent reported that a crowd
gathered around the two ends of the drains during which five persons
came out through the channel.
Two of them were set ablaze by a mob, while three others were rescued by the police.
Clothes, slippers and bags believed to be effects of abductees, were found in the building.
But the state Commissioner of Police,
Fatai Owoseni, said it was too early to tag the building a kidnappers’
hideout, adding that “scientific investigations” would be carried out on
the items.
PUNCH Metro learnt that around
10pm on Tuesday, the police succeeded in dispersing the crowd, which
resumed in the early hours of Wednesday.
A resident, Bolaji Adams, told our
correspondent at the scene that a mad woman was seen moving towards the
drains at about 11am and people confronted her.
He said, “The woman should be in her
40s. She wore tattered clothes and had a bag. We saw her going towards
the drainage channel. When we checked the bag, we found two loaves of
bread, some pieces of fish, three phones and an ATM card.
“People did not even listen to her; they started beating her. Policemen intervened and she was rescued.”
Another eyewitness, Oluwaseun Aluko,
corroborated Adams’ statement, adding that a man wearing wigs was caught
about 30 minutes later.
Aluko said, “In my observation, the
woman was taking the food to other members of the gang. What is a ‘mad’
woman doing with three phones? As we continued to watch, the man
suddenly appeared around the drainage channel. Some people confronted
him, but he was talking incoherently. We saw some clothes and used
exercise books in his load. We decided to let him go.”
Aluko said as the man was going, somebody charged the crowd that he should be interrogated further on the contents of the load.
“Lo and behold, we removed the wigs he
wore and saw his natural hair. As we wanted to beat him, he confessed
that he was a member of the gang. He made the confession in the presence
of policemen, who took him away.
“There are still many suspects lurking
around the drain and we won’t leave until they are all apprehended.
After all, one of the suspects arrested yesterday (Tuesday) said they
were more than 20,” he added.
A trader and resident, Abiodun Moshood,
said a man, who identified himself as a carrier, was nabbed around 11pm
on Tuesday, adding that the man, who wore only underwear, claimed to
have come from the Abule Egba area to buy food.
Our correspondent observed as policemen and men of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps struggled to disperse the crowd.
The angry crowd hauled stones at the security agents, who responded by firing tear gas canisters at them.
The incident was followed by an orgy of arrests, while most of the persons apprehended protested that they were passersby.Some people are ready to go into the
drains. The police did not allow them and they are afraid to go inside.
They (policemen) should go and arrest the real suspects,” a resident,
Stephen Cornellius, said.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations
Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the police had already commenced
investigations into the matter.
He promised to get back on the arrests.
Source Punch Newspappaper.
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