A deserted hotel belonging to one Olatunji Kabiru being used as a hideout by kidnappers in Oyagbe area of Oyo Alaafin in Atiba Local Government area of Oyo State has been discovered the State Police Command.
The State Commissioner of Police (CP), Muhammad Katsina, who led his personnel and journalists to the hotel on Tuesday, disclosed that five suspected kidnappers were arrested at the hotel.
While parading the suspected kidnappers, the CP told journalists that a victim, Husseni Sani was rescued from the hotel, noting that his Command’s investigation revealed that the suspected kidnappers had come all the way from Benin Republic and moved to Kwara State before they finally settled at the location.
The Commissioner of Police said, “Today we are happy to announce that a ground breaking discovery has been made yet again and this time in Oyo town where some wicked individuals kidnapped a fellow human for ransom following which we have so far arrested five people connected with the crime including the hotelier”.
The hotelier, Kabiru, a former councillor of Ward 1, Atiba Local Government said that the kidnapper had come to him asking for three rooms for two weeks for which a deposit of N5, 000 was paid to him, adding, “I had no idea that they were kidnappers and I got to know about their activities when the police came knocking at my door”.
The rescued victim, Sani, a cattle rearer from Ikoyi-Ile said that he had been kidnapped in Ogbomoso and was fed with rice and Coke for 14 days, disclosing that the kidnappers had demanded N1m from him and threatened to kill him and his elder brother should he fail to meet their demand.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who spoke to journalists on the discovery, thanked the police and other security agencies for their swift action in clamping down on the suspected kidnappers.
He said that the prompt and assertive move of the police contributed immensely to the discovery of the hideout, adding that community members would be more careful in their various activities.
“I thank men of the police and other security agencies for a job well done for bursting the crimes in this part of the state which is very surprising to us in this area.
The prompt actions of the Police contributed to the discovery of the kidnappers and I must add that such people should not be allowed to exist in our societies”.
The Alaafin also called on the public to always inform the police when they suspect any unholy activities around their environment.
“I have to say at this juncture that it is everybody’s duty to be alert over the happenings in their environments and keep the police informed about dangerous activities in their environments,” the Alaafin said.
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