The frequency with which kidnappers attack drivers and abduct helpless on-the-road victims on the State’s major thoroughfares has alarmed tourists and residents in Ogun State.
According to pressloaded, traffic on federal highways including the Lafenwa-Ayetoro-Imeko road, the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, and the Lagos-Ibadan highway is getting worse for drivers.
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In Nigeria, kidnapping has essentially become a lucrative business as some people kidnap victims in exchange for ransom. Millions of Naira have been paid in ransom to kidnappers in Ogun State, whose specialty is picking up unwary travelers in exchange for ransom.
Unfortunately, these kidnappers have little regard for anyone, as seen by the numerous times they have invited police officers and other security personnel into their lairs.
Foreign workers on fields and construction sites have frequently been kidnapped, held for ransom, and then released. While attempting to stop the kidnapping of the people they were supposed to protect, some security personnel were killed.
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Sofolahan Olanrewaju, an officer of the Ogun State So-Safe Corps, was slain in August by unidentified gunmen. It was discovered that the abductors abducted a woman after breaking into a pub in Soyoye, Abeokuta North Local Government. While trying to summon help, the So-Safe security man was shot and killed by the captors.
As they increasingly operate in broad daylight on busy routes throughout the State, it appears that the kidnappers are growing resistant to all the techniques implemented by the police and other security agencies in the State.
According to research by pressloaded, these fearless shooters frequently pose as police officers or military personnel to trick their victims. Drivers are kidnapped while they stop to help the ostensible security guards who are supposed to be on duty.
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Three police officers were recently pulled into a bush along the Wasinmi road in Ogun State’s Ewekoro Local Government Area. Many people found it difficult to comprehend how such an operation could be conducted on the congested Lagos–Abeokuta highway, only a few kilometers from the state capital of Abeokuta.
The officers were in Ogun State to conduct an investigation. They were from Zone 2 in the Onikan region of Lagos State.
They were being driven by a commercial driver when they were approached by men wearing military camouflage who pretended to be security personnel performing a stop-and-search. The gunmen eventually abducted three people after holding them for more than 48 hours.
The Ogun State police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, insisted that only one policeman was among the three victims, who he said had since been released, as he made comments about the incident. He has not yet revealed who has been detained in connection with the event.
According to the pressloaded, many regular users of the road connecting the capital of Ogun State with Lagos, Ota, and other areas of Ogun West have been shaken by the Wasinmi broad daylight kidnapping.
“Especially in the afternoon, I never imagined kidnappers would have the effrontery to target anyone on that Wasinmi axis of the highway. I am aware that the Ewekoro Local Government has experienced kidnapping cases. Their primary target used to be Obada, but it appears that the police and the State administration tightened the noose because we haven’t heard of any such events recently.
“I also recall that a few months back, some kidnappers broke into a Celestial church along that axis and took the assistant pastor and another person hostage; nevertheless, all of these incidents took place at night and off the main road. I’m now afraid of that road. I drive throughout the day and night. Ade Julius, an Abeokuta resident, said that the federal government ought to assist us.
A commercial driver, who went by the name Kareem Olayeni, also expressed worry about the prospect of being abducted. He claimed he would spend months in the kidnappers’ den since no one would offer a ransom for his release.
“I’m scared. We have no alternative employment options, thus we are unable to stop driving. Here is what we do for a living, and this is the route we take: Wasinmi, Itori, Papa, Ifo. We are concerned after hearing that passengers on public transportation were abducted.
“As it is, I have no way of getting any money for ransom, so if they take me today, I’ll merely stay with the kidnappers for many months. On hire buy, this vehicle. I only hope the cops and other security personnel respond appropriately,” he said.
Kidnapping of a traveler on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway
Road users were confronted with another incident near the well-known Kara long bridge, close to Lagos, while they were considering switching from the Wasinmi road to the Lagos-Ibadan route.
A group of gunmen ambushed a commercial vehicle traveling from Ilorin, Kwara State, to Lagos, and Alhaji Sheu Anafi was carried away.
Police officers in Ogun State, however, attacked the alleged kidnappers’ hideout and freed the victim while also apprehending one of the suspects.
On Sunday, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed that kidnappers had recently been threatening the Kara bridge. This comes after he disputed rumors that 20 people had been kidnapped nearby a few weeks prior.
Oyeyemi revealed in a statement over the weekend that the kidnappers’ hideout was raided in order to free the aforementioned Alhaji Sheu Anafi.
A commercial driver had informed the Warewa police division that while traveling from Ilorin in his Ford commercial automobile bearing the license plate LRN 596 ZY and carrying seven people, he had been attacked by some kidnappers.
Oyeyemi claims that the driver told the police that there was a jam at the Long Bridge end of the Lagos–Ibadan expressway, forcing him to maneuver through an unpaved access road next to the bridge.
The driver claimed that they were ambushed by “unknown gunmen” as they traveled over the unpaved route.
All of the passengers reportedly fled the attack in different routes into the neighboring jungle.
The passengers apparently reunited for their journey after some time, but it was later discovered that Anafi, an Ilorin resident from the Okeleele neighborhood, had been kidnapped by the thugs.
Following the complaint, AbdulFatai Ogunsanya, the DPO of Warewa division, organized a joint operation with members of the command’s tactical teams and other local security personnel to scour the jungle for the kidnapped guy.
Oyeyemi claims that security personnel discovered the kidnappers’ hiding place and fought them in a gunfight.
The victim, 62-year-old Sheu Anafi, was freed unharmed at the conclusion of the encounter. “At the end of the encounter, one of the kidnappers, Ibraheem Abubakar, who claimed to have come from Sabonganmu-Bompai road, Kano State, was arrested while others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
According to the police spokeswoman, the guy admitted to being a part of a seven-man gang that has recently been harassing a section of the lengthy bridge.
Lanre Bankole, the commissioner of police for Ogun State, has ordered the immediate transfer of the detained suspect to the state criminal investigation departments for a covert investigation in response to the occurrence.
Bankole also pleaded with members of the public, particularly hospitals, to call the police if they see someone suffering from gunshot wounds.
Ogbu Ambrose, an Ogun State resident, responded by urging South West politicians to unite and confront insecurity head-on, claiming that terrorists had claimed credit for the attack on a police station in Ondo State.
“The attack at the Ondo police station has been claimed by ISWAP, and you should be aware of the implications for the entire region. Leaders need to adapt to the circumstances, he said.
An anonymous civil servant claimed that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad’s dissolution and the removal of numerous police checkpoints were to blame for the rise in kidnapping after the #EndSARS protest.
The Ogun State police command has meanwhile emphasized that kidnappers and other criminals will be flushed out wherever they are and that Ogun will never serve as a haven for them.
The Command warned against paying a ransom to kidnappers and urged the public to provide the police with reliable information.
Governor Dapo Abiodun had promised to apprehend kidnappers and bring them before the law as part of his attempts to clean up the State of crime.
“Let me emphasize unequivocally that no area of Ogun State provides a shelter for criminals and criminal activity of any kind. Whether on the Lagos-Ibadan, Sagamu-Benin-Ore, Abeokuta-Sango-Lagos expressways or even our township roads or interstate roads, we shall smoke them out. We shall arrest them and hand them over to face justice,” Abiodun stressed while reacting to an incident of kidnapping.
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