Abductors of farmers in Epe demand N350million, as one Isheri kidnap suspect arrested
Abductors who are said to be responsible for the kidnap of two Oodua People’s Congress members and five farm workers at Eliasa farm in the Igbodu area of Epe on Tuesday have demanded for the ransom of N350million before releasing the victims.
The Daily Times learnt that the kidnappers contacted the manager of the farm through the phone of one of the victim’s on Wednesday and asked for the sum of N5omillion each for the seven victims.
In another development, one of the suspected kidnappers who participated in the abduction of the secretary of Isheri North Estate, Mr. Dayo Adekoya has been arrested in Ogijo, Ogun State.
The 38 year old Joseph Omoni was arrested by the operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the suspect also confessed to have participated in the kidnapping of the Turkish School Children and that of Aisha Ali Balogun along the Ikorodu- Mile 12 road where one person was killed and nine people including children were kidnapped.
Two houses built with the proceeds from the illicit business with one of his gang member identified simply as Aka Chairman were sealed in centaury village in Ogijo, Ogun State by the police authority.
Efforts are however in top gear towards arresting other fleeing members of the gang who are all native of Ajgba Community in Ondo State.
A source from Igbodu who spoke with The Daily Times on phone on the kidnapped OPC members and farmers said, mobile Policemen and Anti-kidnapping Squad have been deployed to the community to rescue the kidnapped victims.
He said: “we cannot take laws into our hands. The kidnappers have taken us for granted, to avoid chaos I and the officer in charge of the anti-kidnapping visited the Oba of Ikosi Ejirin who promises to reach out to the governor of the state for prompt action in the area.”
‘’I want the Lagos State government to pay more attention to that part of the state, because after the dislodgement of the kidnappers from Arepo and Ikorodu they have seen Epe axis as their next area where they launched attacked.”
According to the Assistant Inspector General of Police zone 2, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, ‘we are going to rescue the victim’s alive.
He said: ‘’ we are doing everything to police that area, because the major problem in that part of the state is that porous nature of the area that give room to the kidnappers to thrives.”
Aderanti added: “we we’ll police that area twenty four hours every day and my advice to business owner, school operators in that area should be security conscious and do their background check of anybody they want to employ.
“We are also going to do our own job to see to release of the victim without paying a dime to the abductors.”
It will be recalled that the gunmen numbering about 15, dressed in military camouflage stormed the farm situated along Ishiwo road around 7am and abducted the OPC members who work as security guard in the farm and five workers.
