Police rescue 19-year-old from kidnappers, ritualists’ den in Ibadan

Christopher Oji

A 19-year-old man, Mathew Isichie, has been rescued from ritualists’ den in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The victim was traced to Ibadan by the Lagos State police command where he was rescued from two suspects who were allegedly keeping him for ritual purpose.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana said on July 4,  that operatives of the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), followed up on a petition referred to the command by the Force Headquarters, Abuja to Ibadan, Oyo State. The operatives acted on credible intelligence with the support of the Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU) and arrested two suspects at (Akorede and Muhibudeen. The victim, Mathew Isichei Chukwuebuka, 19, was rescued. The victim has been in their custody for a period of nine days without being fed.

“In his statement, the victim stated that he was called with a telephone and he did not know how he got to Ibadan. He said on arrival, he was given something from a black pot to eat and he lost his senses. He said he was ordered to surrender his phone to them, and the phone was programmed to reject any incoming calls except the only line that they were demanding the ransom from. They collected all the money in his possession and were demanding more. He was taken to an ATM point where they withdrew N10,000 from his account. They demanded N30 million to be paid into the victim’s bank account as ransom. The victim has since been reunited with his family. The suspects were charged to court and remanded in prison custody.”