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Tony Osauzo, Benin
Three months after three suspected soldier kidnappers were handed over to the Army to undergo military administrative action before undergoing police prosecution, the police said they have been kept waiting, forcing speculation from the kidnap victims that the soldiers had escaped from custody.
The three soldiers identified as Corporal Collins Ameh 13NA/70/4960 of 3 Division, Jos; Lance Corporal Balogun Taiwo 13/NA/69/0369 of 35 Battalion, Katsina; and Private Evans Isibor 15/NA/73/1529 of the Artillery Brigade, Owerri on a special duty in Maiduguri, Borno State, were arrested last November for kidnapping and armed robbery.
Corporals Ameh and Balogun were alleged to have kidnapped one Mr Joseph Otono and snatched his Toyota Voltron car. Otono was released after a ransom was paid by his relatives.
The two soldiers were arrested by the police in Ehor, headquarters of Uhunmwode local government area while on their way to Lagos to sell the car.
They were also alleged to have kidnapped a classroom teacher in Fugar, Mrs Catherine Izuagie, on September 9th, 2019 and released her after ransom was paid.
Private Isibor who was posted to Maiduguri, capital of Bornu State to combat insurgency, was alleged to have kidnapped one Mohammed Hassan in Agenebode, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State on the 14 of October, 2019.
After they were paraded before newsmen in November last year, they were said to have been handed over to the 4 Brigade headquarters of the Nigerian Army in Benin City.
The victims were also invited to identify the suspects.
Checks showed that a civillian arrested alongside the soldiers, Mr. Goodluck Igbinebo, had since been remanded to the Oko Correctional facility in Benin City, awaiting trial.
But the victims of the alleged kidnap have cried out over the whereabouts of the soldiers.
They said they had waited patiently for the soldiers to be arraigned before the court of law but what they were told was that their abductors might have escaped from lawful custody.
One of them, Hassan, told journalists in Benin City that it was bad that the people that left him for dead had escaped from custody, adding that he was left inside the bush to die after the soldiers collected his ATM.
He said the soldiers were supposed to undergo military administrative action after which they would be returned to the police for prosecution.
“It is more than three months now and we are not hearing anything. Police said the suspects are still with the Army but we learnt that they have escaped.
“We want the Army authorities to provide the soldiers for trial. They must face the law. If I show you my back, you will pity me. These people left me to die but I somehow survived inside the bush”, he said.
Another victim who pleaded anonymity for fear of attacks said she always had nightmares of the hours she spent in the bush.
Edo police spokesman, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed that the suspects were handed over to the Army for it to do the needful and return the suspects to them.
“It is only from you people (press) we hear they have escaped. We are still waiting for the Army”, he said.
