Two kidnappers who killed their victims after collecting ransom from their families have been arrested by operatives of the Ogun State Police Command.
The operation, by the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command, led to the recovery of the corpses of the victims.
The squad is said to have made the breakthrough in cracking the case of the kidnapped victims barely five days after the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, commended them for their achievements.
According to The Eagle Online, two of the seven kidnappers who abducted several persons last year: Chukwuma Bartholomew and Igwe Monday, were arrested through technical investigations on June 28, 2024 at about 6:20pm.
The arrest came 6 months after the last operation in which their victim, 71-year-old Sunday Adekunle Ifelaja, popularly known as Adeife, did not return home after his kidnappers collected ransom.
The gang carried out more kidnappings for ransom after that of Adeife, who was taken on December 31, 2023 and Femi Ogunyemi, whom they abducted on November 23, 2023.
Reports add that they were behind the recent kidnap of some Chinese and Nigerians on the Sagamu-Benin Expressway.
The gang was, however, forced to release the Chinese and others they kidnapped following the pressure on them by the hard working Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Ogun State Police Command.
The search for the members of the 7-man gang by the Anti-Kidnapping Section of the Ogun State Police Command began last year after they k!lled Oluwaseun Oworu, who they kidnapped at about 2:30am on July 29, 2023 at his residence, 38, Odesina Street, Odosenbadejo, Ojowo, Ijebu-Igbo.
They robbed Oworu of his properties, including a Point of Sale machine issued to him by Monie Point.
They stormed the house of 34-year-old Ogunyemi at Abusi area of Ijebu-Igbo on November 23, 2023 at about 10:10pm.
After abducting him, the criminal elements made a video of him and sent it to his family via WhatsApp to demand a ransom.
However, after collecting the ransom, with the PoS stolen from Oworu, they refused to release him.
They did the same to 71-year-old Ifelaja, who they kidnapped in his farm house on December 31, 2023 at about 10:00pm.
After collecting the ransom, with the PoS taken from Oworu, they also did not release him.
However, on June 28, 2024, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad made a massive breakthrough in the hunt for the kidnappers when through technical-based investigation, they discovered the hideout of the criminals in Ijebu-Igbo.
On storming their hideout, the operatives arrested Bartholomew and Ogunyemi, who then led them to the shallow graves where they buried their victims on July 12, 2024 inside Ijebu-Igbo forest.
According to reports, the detectives, from the State Criminal Investigation Department, are not relenting in their bid to arrest the remaining members of the gang.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Command’s Commissioner, CP Alamutu Abiodun Mustapha, has visited the crime scenes in Ijebu-Igbo.
Mustapha was said to have stormed Ijebu-Igbo on Saturday as a part of the ongoing investigation into the case.
The spokesperson of the Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the developments to newsmen.
Odutola, a Superintendent of Police, said those arrested would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded while the manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang is ongoing.