KIDNAPPING: MAN ALLEGEDLY DISGUISES AS SCAVENGER, TUCKS 8-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN BAG IN ONDO 

A suspected kidnapper who disguised as a scavenger has been arrested in Akure, the Ondo state capital over the alleged kidnap of an 8-year-old girl.

The suspect abducted the victim after reportedly hitting her with a charm and thereafter put her in a sac.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that luck ran against the suspect when the victim’s cries attracted her grandmother who raised the alarm.

Addressing newsmen in Akure, the state commander of the state security outfit, codenamed Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said that the suspected kidnapper hit the little girl with a charm and immediately tuck her in a sac bag and was about to leave before nemesis caught up with him.

Adeleye said that “the suspect pretended as if he’s a scavenger picking rubbles, but luckily, the grandmother of the child heard the cry of the girl and when they looked round, they saw somebody stepping away with the child inside the sac.”

“So, when they raised the alarm, he attacked them with different objects including a burning firewood he picked from a woman cooking nearby, but they were able to quickly alert Amotekun operatives and he was arrested.”

“Upon interrogation, we discovered that he is actually a kidnapper and he confessed that he has been in the trade for a while.”

Investigation continues on his case before we would finally hand him over to the court.

“We would like to know his sponsors, those who are his bosses, what he does with the previous ones he had successfully taken away before his arrest today.”

“Luckily, the 8 years old child is mentally okay and the grandmother, despite the degree of the injury she sustained from the firewood attack, is equally responding to treatment from our health facility”, he explained.

Adeleye appealed to wards and parents to keep an eye on their children anytime they are playing around.

He noted that “All these scavengers, majority of them are armed robbers who come to survey premises and come to attack in the night, most of them are informants to kidnappers and armed robbers.”

“So we are seriously discouraging the scavengers within our society and I want to appeal to members of the public, to be more watchful and careful this times with their children.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t affect only children, they go with different types of charms, that at times, they even attack able-bodied adults who would just follow them unconsciously to anywhere.”

“But today, the long arm of the law has caught up with this one and we will make sure diligent prosecution is carried out to serve as a deterrent to others who are into the trade.”

“Like we have been telling members of the public, we remain resolute and committed to the provision of adequate security of lives and property to residents in Ondo State.”

“Equally, we want them to always avail us with timely and quality information that we can act on and we are also reassuring them that the state is safe, economically viable and we assure investors to come into Ondo State and transact business without any fear of robbery attacks and kidnapping.”

“Again, like we told you in November, that there was not going to be any robbery or kidnap incidents and till date, all such attempts have been foiled by officers and men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps and other security agencies through our joint patrol team, comprising of the Army, police, NSCDC the DSS, the Correctional Centres and the Amotekun Corps.”

Also speaking, the father of the victim, Bose James, said “ I was outside, washing my clothes and my mother was inside watching television.”

“My little daughter who is 8 years old came out, that she wants to use the toilet and I asked her to go to the backyard to do that.”

“Her incessant cries attracted my mother’s attention who went to the backyard and confirmed that an “Aboki’ whom we mistook for a scavenger had kidnapped and hidden her inside a Sac bag.”

“It was my mother’s ‘shout for help’ that made me go to check what’s really going on and before I could get there, he had hit her with a heavy wood on her chest while she was struggling to rescue my child from him.”

“The kidnapper continued to attack whoever attempted to rescue my child from the Sac bag where he kept her, but I held on to him, preventing him from escaping.”

“It was a bike man who saw the scene, who went to alert the Amotekun Corps stationed at Maronu area of Araromi Road who swiftly arrived, rescued us and arrested the suspected kidnapper”, he narrated.

James, however lauded the state Amotekun “for their swift response which, according to him, rescued all of them from the kidnapper.

@ Vanguard Newspaper