Abdullahi Muhammadu, a Department of State Services (DSS) officer assigned to the anti-kidnapping squad in the Okeogun area of Oyo State, informed a Federal High Court in Ibadan on Wednesday that the cooperation of local security personnel facilitated the arrest of certain suspected kidnappers.
Muhammadu was testifying before Justice E.U. Akpan.
“When we were informed that some kidnappers were operating along Iganna Road, we moved towards the scene and found out that a group of local vigilantes had engaged and curtailed them, we simply took over the rest of the operation from them.
“During our investigation, the suspects confessed that they were part of the kidnappers terrorising the people of Okeogun and travellers on Iganna routes.
“Moreover, we discovered that the two kidnappers, Aliyu Muhammadu and Idris Umar, are among the 400 inmates who escaped during the 2021 jailbreak in Abolongo Custodial Medium Centre in Oyo Town.
“Muhammadu and Umar confessed that on the day they were caught they had robbed some of their victims of N1.2 million, during our search, we were able to recover N500,000 in cash from the said N1.2 million.”
According to Muhammadu, one of their victims who escaped identified the second defendant as one of the kidnappers who held him hostage.
“The victim also explained that the kidnappers had initially demanded N50 million but after much pleading agreed to collect N10 million before the vigilantes eventually intercepted them,” Muhammadu explained.
The witness through the prosecution counsel, Mrs Aderonke Imama, tendered the confessional statements of the defendants before the court.
However, the Defence Counsel, Mr Femi Oyinloye, opposed the tendering of the confessional statements, explaining that the relatives of the defendants were never present to witness what was written.
Oyinloye also said the prosecution did not allow him to have access to the confessional statements before tendering them in court.
In a re-examination, the witness said some lawyers from the Legal Aid Council were present at the investigation and saw when the defendants were making their confessional statements.
Justice Akpan subsequently admitted the confessional statements and adjourned the case until March 11 for continuation of trial.
NAN recalls that Aliyu Muhammadu, 22 and Idris Umar, 22, are facing charges bordering on alleged hostage-taking, highway robbery, unlawful possession of guns and unlawful escape from correctional facilities.
