Follow Us on Google
• Lagos command joins in rescue effort
By Christopher Oji
Ten days after students and officials of the Nigeria-Turkish International College, Ogun State were kidnapped, the police have assured relatives that their children are safe.
A senior police officer, who confided in Daily Sun, said “we have made some serious arrests, outside General Kakadu. We have other suspects that are helping us in the negotiation for the release of the victims.
“We know where the kidnappers and the victims are, but we can’t enter the place now; that is why we are negotiating with the kidnappers. They have our children; we also have theirs; so, we have been able to communicate with them that we know who they are and they know that we know what we are talking.
“It is a matter of time. We assure the victim’s relatives not to worry; their children will be released unharmed. We know that 10 days ordeal is not easy, but it has happened. What we need is solution and that is what we are looking for.
“As I am talking to you, the Lagos State Police Command has joined hands with its Ogun State counterpart and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), in the rescue mission of the victims.
“I repeat, we know what we are doing and we are using the arrested kingpins and other persons in the negotiation. The police are not playing. We are working day and night looking for ways to rescue the captives. We must get them free.”
Another police source told Daily Sun that the pressure on the kidnappers by the police has forced them to reduce the ransom from N1.2billion to N10million.
“We are mounting pressure on them. They know that we know them very well. There are some strategies we can’t reveal for security reasons. But they are working perfectly well. They have reduced the ransom from N1.2billion to N10million. It is because they know we understand what we are doing.”
However, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, has confirmed that his command would intervene in the rescue mission of the kidnap victims.
He said: “Nigeria police is one. The incident happened in Ogun State, but we are going to join hands in the rescue mission.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in-charge of Zone 2, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, has maintained that the police were not party or aware of any ransom being demanded by the kidnappers.
