Crimes

Police rescue kidnapped girl, arrest suspect in Ondo

The operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a suspect for allegedly kidnapping a six-year-old girl in her mother’s car at a groceries shop in Akure, the state capital.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, disclosed this via a statement issued on Saturday.

Odunlami-Omisanya stated that a case of kidnapping was reported at the police station on December 21, 2022, at about 9 p.m. by the mother of the kidnapped girl, Mrs Chukwu-Ezedima.

She said the complainant alleged that the suspect kidnapped her daughter, Nwasi Chukwu-Ezedima, in her Toyota Corolla car at the Lafe Area of Akure while she was getting groceries for the family.

The police spokesperson disclosed that the suspect, who allegedly demanded N50 million from the family as ransom, was arrested on December 31, 2022, at a POS stand while trying to withdraw part of the money.

“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the offence, while the victim was rescued unhurt.

“The suspect will soon be arraigned in court,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has handed over a man arrested in unlawful possession of firearms to the police.

Odunlami-Omisanya said a patrol of the Nigerian Army while on routine check at Elegbeka in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State got information about the man (names withheld) allegedly in possession of a revolver.

She stated that the patrol team subsequently investigated the allegation and arrested the man with the locally-made gun.

“The suspect initially claimed he found the gun on farmland, but later confessed that the gun was given to him by a welder (names withheld) currently in a correctional centre in Okene.

“The suspect has been handed over to the police and would soon have his day in court,” Odunlami-Omisanya noted.

The Star