On February 29, 2016, an armed gang of suspected criminals abducted three female students from their school, Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School, a co-educational school owned by the Lagos Anglican Diocese located in Adamo, a suburb town in Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Ikorodu division.
As expected, a huge public outcry trailed the unfortunate incident, and this consequently mounted pressure on the management of the school, security agents and the Lagos State government, gearing them to immediately step up action to secure the release of the students.
The kidnapped students were Tofunmi Popoola, Deborah Akinayo and Timilehin Olusa. The latter, who is the daughter of the secretary, of Lagos Anglican School Management Board.
After few days of intense search, a well-coordinated rescue operation by the Lagos State police Command and a Special Intelligence Response Team from the police headquarters in Abuja, led by CSP Abba Kyari, rescued the abducted girls in Imota area of Ikorodu on March 6.
Below is the detailed report of how the students were kidnapped and rescued as compiled by our reporter, with additional reports from the Punch newspaper.
FEBRUARY 29, 2016 – THE KIDNAP PROPER
A gang of about fifteen (15) gunmen had on Monday, February 29, scaled the low fence of the school, stormed a classroom in the Science and Technology Block near the school hostel while students were studying for their examinations and started shooting sporadically.
The bandits, one of whom was said to be masked, were reportedly resisted by some male students, who however, had to beat a retreat when the gunmen inflicted machete cuts on one of them.
Although, the arrival of the school’s men at the scene of the incident further strengthened the resistance mounted by the male students, the bandits reportedly escaped with three female students, who were said to be in senior classes, through the perforated section of the low fence of the school premises.
It was also gathered that the low fence of the school premises borders a site while houses, several uncompleted building, with bush path crisscrosses most of the area.
MARCH 1, 2016: PARENTS WITHDREW THEIR CHIDLREN FROM THE SCHOOL, BLAMED SCHOOL FOR ABDUCTION
Some panic-stricken parents were reported to have stormed the premises of BMJSS on the early hours of March 1, 2016 and hurriedly took their children from the school.
In a report by Punch Newspaper, no fewer than five parents withdrew their children from the school but they refused to speak to journalists when they were approached for their reactions.
Also in the report, many of the parents blamed the abduction on the security lapses in the school, particularly blaming the school authority for not providing adequate security within the boarding area.
According to parents, the low perimeter fence and inadequate presence of security personnel at the hostel end, where the student were abducted, posed little or no barrier to the kidnappers. They also blamed the school management for concentrating the security arrangement at the main entrance of the school while there was none within the hostel area.
The angry parents were also reported to have alleged that similar incident occurred in the school few months ago but there were no victims, adding that the school principal, Ven. Ola Olusa Adeyemi, only called all the students and warned them to be vigilant and to report suspicious movements rather than taking necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of such incident.
Some of the parents were alleged to have vowed not to allow their children to sleep in the schools hostel on that Tuesday. They gathered to pray for the abducted girls and the school also sent text messages to assure them of their safe return.
THE VISIT OF ASSISTANT INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE (AIG) ZONE 2 AND LAGOS STATE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE (CP) TO BM JSS
On Tuesday, March 1, 2016, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, Bala Hassan and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, visited BM JSS and assured the management and parents of the abducted students that efforts were ongoing to rescue them alive.
After a close door meeting with the parents and the school management, the AIG said the police had got useful information on the location of the abductors, adding that the police were working with other security agencies to secure the victims’ release.
He explained that the security forces are jointly doing everything possible to ensure that the abducted students were rescued in good health and also gave assurance of adequate security on the school premises so that learning will continue.
Hassan assured that the security forces are on top of the situation, adding that the Ogun State Police Command has been contacted to make sure that the place is fully secured.
During the visit, the Commissioner of Police and some naval officers in a helicopter conducted an aerial surveillance of the school vicinity for about thirty minutes.
MARCH 2, 2016 (STATE GOVERNMENT’S REACTION)
In a swift reaction to the abduction of the school girls, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday, March 2, 2016, assured that his government would spare no effort to ensure the safe release of the abducted girls.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, Governor Ambode condemned the unfortunate incident, adding that the Police and other security operatives have swung into action with useful leads and unwavering determination to track down the perpetrators of the act and ensure safe return of the girls.
He said the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni and the Assistant Inspector General of Police for Lagos/Ogun Command were fully on ground at the scene and vicinity of the incident, leading the entire coordinated effort involving every military apparatus.
Governor Ambode said the incident may not be unconnected with his recent visit to some parts of Ikorodu, where he read the riot act to vandals and criminal gangs on the resolve of the state government to take the battle to their hideouts in a spirited effort to secure the pipelines.
He also recalled a similar incident in Arepo area of Ogun State, where a senior staff of a leading telecommunications agency was kidnapped, adding that he has gotten assurance from both the Ogun State Police and Lagos Police Commands on their collaborative efforts to tame the menace of kidnapping and ensure return of order and safety.
He also commended the gallantry of the students of the schools, who put up a courageous resistance to prevent the abduction of their mates, and also praised the mature and measured response of the school management in the wake of the incident.
And as a follow up to Governor Ambode’s statement, his deputy, Dr. (Mrs.) Idiat Oluranti Adebule, on the same day, paid a visit to BMJ SS, during which she equally assured both parents and school management that the state government was fully on top of the situation.
She met with the management of the school, led by the school principal, Ven Olaoluwa Adeyemi and some parents of the school students and briefed them on the state government’s plans towards ensuring the safe return of the kidnapped students.
Mrs. Adebule explained that the state government, under the leadership of Governor Ambode, was very much concerned about the plight of the affected parents and school, and that it was on top of the situation and working hard in conjunction with security agencies to promptly re-unite the children with their families.
She equally appealed passionately to the kidnappers to release the girls immediately as the victims were innocent of whatever reasons that prompted their action.
In their responses, both the school principal and Dr. Michael Fape, proprietor of the school and Bishop of Remo Diocese of Anglican Church of Nigeria, commended the state government on the quick response to the distress call made concerning the kidnap, saying that the action of the government and security agencies were encouraging and assuring that the girls would soon be rescued.
Among those in the entourage of the Deputy Governor on the visit were Hon. S.O.B. Agunbiade, member, Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu Constituency I and Hon. Adebimpe Akinsola, Special Adviser to the Governor on Arts and Culture.
MARCH 3, 2016 – THE RANSOM
The argument over whether the abduction of the school girls were carried out by kidnappers or ritualists was laid to rest on Thursday, March 3, 2016, when it was reported that those who masterminded the abduction had finally contacted one of the parents of the captives to confirm that the girls were in their custody and also to demand a ransom for their release.
According to the report gathered, it was alleged that initially, the kidnappers demanded N100million, which was later reduced to N60million after a passionate plea by the said parent.
There was also an unconfirmed report that the ransom was further negotiated to N10million.
MARCH 5, 2016 – RELOCATION OF THE SCHOOLGIRLS
Indications emerged on Saturday, March 5, 2016, that the kidnappers, upon hearing that security agencies were on their trail, relocated their captives from their initial location.
It was gathered from a reliable Police source that activities of the kidnappers, which were hitherto felt around the creeks in Epe and Ikorodu areas of the state, had ceased, suggesting that the bandits had relocated their captives to another location.
According to the source, there is likelihood that the kidnappers have relocated the girls from Epe and Ikorodu creeks, where security agencies had earlier traced their movements to but could no longer feel their presence there.
He, however, said police were looking inward to locate the school girls and their abductors.
MARCH 6, 2016 – THE RESCUE
After several days of intense search, a combined Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) from the police headquarters in Abuja, led by CSP Abba Kyari with support from the Lagos State Police Command, rescued the three school girls in the early hours of Sunday March 6, 2016 at Imota area of Ikorodu.
It was gathered that the public outcry prompted the government to meet the needs of security agencies on the rescue operation, while the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, send his special team to Lagos to take over the operation.
The security agents had combed every nook and cranny of the state, especially the Ikorodu areas, making the abductors uncomfortable to stay in one place.
It was learnt that the victims were initially taken to Adamo forest immediately after their abduction.
Adamo forest is across the river in Lugbusi community, where the school is situated in Ikorodu.
According to report, the kidnappers were 12 men, and they came in eight canoes. They used seven Ak-47 rifles for the operation.
One of the men, who we later identified as Lamiameni brought the kidnapping job of the gang, while another member, known as Felix, alias Tradition, was the one communicating with the families for ransom negotiation.
From the forest, the gang moved to a creek, located between Ikorodu and Epe, Lagos State, where they also held the girls.
Security agents were said to have had the first break on March 4, when a suspected kidnapper, Emmanuel Arigidi, aged 37, was sent by the gang from the creeks to buy foodstuffs.
He was said to have bought foodstuffs big enough for an army, which confirmed the suspicion that he was a member of the gang. He was subsequently arrested.
Arigidi was reported to have broken down during interrogation and confessed to being a member of the gang that stole the school girls. He gave the direction to the place they were keeping the girls and mentioned the names of other members and also promised to lead the operatives to the location.
It was gathered that after waiting for Arigidi for two days, the gang sensed that something was amiss and thereafter, moved to an area around Igbo Okuta Bridge, Imota, Ikorodu.
It was gathered that possible hiding places had been discussed among the gang members during the planning of the kidnapping. When security operatives, therefore, noticed that there were no activities in the creek, they suspected the gang had fled the area. But Arigidi had no problem in revealing the place they could be.
Also, the relatives of the suspected abductors, mentioned by the suspect, were said to have been rounded up and made to plead with their people on the telephone to release the girls.
It was learnt that the fathers of two of the suspected kidnappers were allowed on Saturday to go after their sons to talk to them and other gang members to release the girls.
At about 5a.m on Sunday, more than 500 operatives comprising the IG team, the Lagos State Police Command and other security agencies stormed Imota and rescued the schoolgirls at the Igbo-okuta bridge area of Ikorodu, and two other suspected kidnappers were arrested during the operation.
It was also revealed that the family had not paid any ransom before the girls were rescued.
The report also has it that the kidnappers abandoned the girls and fled the scene.
According to a source, “The arrest of Arigidi’s gang members forced other members of the gang to abandon the girls at Imota. Efforts are in progress to arrest the fleeing kidnappers.”
Moreso, Arigidi was said to have confessed that there was an altercation between him and other eleven members of the gang, which forced him to leave the gang.
Arigidi was paraded on March 6 at the Governor’s office in Alausa, Ikeja, with two other accomplices – Akanji Sheu and James Henry.
Arigidi said he opened up to the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, who arrested him at the Majidun area of Ikorodu.
He explained that he was invited to participate in the abduction by Lamiameni and Felix, who were still at large.
He said, “Lamiameni was the one who brought the deal and we discussed how to carry out the operation at Majidun.” We were twelve (12) in number. We went to Maya Bridge to board a canoe and around 8pm, we entered the school and abducted three girls.
“There was a misunderstanding among us on how to keep the girls. I told them I did not like what we had done and we should release the girls because security had become tight and the police were on our trial. But my gang members threatened to kill me. I manage to board a boat and run away from our den. Three days after, SARS arrested me at Majidun and I explained everything to them.”
Another suspect, James Henry, explained that, he was a victim of circumstance.
He said he helped customers to register their lines in Ikorodu, adding that a line, which he registered using his photograph, was used by the kidnappers.
It was learnt that the kidnappers had used the line to negotiate ransom with the school and Henry was picked up after the police tracked the number.
He said, “I register sim lines for customers in Ikorodu. I helped a customer to register his line but after he left, I discovered that his photograph did not appear on his profile. In an attempt to submit his details, I used my photograph instead. That was how the police traced the line to me. Except the photograph, other details are not mine.”
PARENTS ADMITS PAYING N5.6M RANSOM
Facts emerged on March 19, 2016 that the parents of the three students of Babington Junior Seminary School, Ikorodu, Lagos, who were abducted on February 25, 2016, paid N5.6m ransom to the kidnappers.
The father of one of the victims, Venerable Olusa Ayo, revealed in his statement to the police, that the kidnappers initially demanded N200m for the release of the girls.
He said the abductors, however, after agreeing to collect N15 million, made him merry-go-round to ensure he was not being followed by security agents.
He said, “On the morning of March 1, 2016 at about 11:00a.m, I received a call through which my daughter informed me about the abduction. She said three students, including herself were abducted at gunpoint in the midst of sporadic shooting. She further advised me to contact the school authorities.
“The line was switched off thereafter until around 11p.m on the same day. The same line called again, with my daughter requesting confirmation if the school management had been contacted. I told her to hand over the phone to her abductors. One of the abductors informed me that I should know what to do. He, thereafter, demanded a ransom of N200m before the girls could be set free.”
Ayo said while pleading with the abductor, the line was switched off.
He explained that the kidnappers flashed his number, and he called back the next day and continued with the negotiation.
The cleric said the kidnappers shifted grounds from N150million to N100million, adding that they asked him to pay N30million for the release of only his child.
Ayo said, “But I said I wanted all the three girls. I also explained that it had been difficult for the school to raise the ransom they were demanding. I offered N1million each on behalf of the other parents and N2m on behalf of the school.
“This was declined with constant threat to kill them if we failed to meet their demand. They finally decided to collect N15m which they claim would be the final offer.”
He said after speaking with the kidnappers that the parents had raised an additional N600, 000 to the N5m they had, the kidnappers agreed to take it.
One of them was said to have given the cleric instructions on how to package the money and get it ready in a Ghana-must- go bag.
The cleric said, “At about 11pm on Saturday, March 5, 2016, I was contacted to bring the money with stern warning not to involve the security agencies. That I should come alone, and later they said I could come with a driver.
“I was asked to drive to Ijebu-Ode, but I was intermittently called to know my movements. I was also directed to put on the inner lights of the car, while the hazard pointers should be on.
“By the time I got to Imota, I was asked to proceed until I got to Agbowa where I was asked to turn back to Ikorodu. I was later asked to turn back to Ijebu-Ode again until I got to Imota.
“Finally, I was directed again to go back to Ikorodu and watch out for a broken down vehicle after the filling station. When I confirmed that I had sighted the car, I was directed to drop the money in front of the car. This was at about 11.40pm.” He said the kidnappers confirmed the receipt of the money to him on the phone and promised to release the children.
According to him, he returned to the school around 12pm on that Saturday and informed the security agencies of what had happened.
He said the girls were released the following morning and brought back to the school.
“The girls gave me N15, 000 which was given to them by the kidnappers for their transport. My daughter also delivered their message that I should pray that God would forgive them.
“The police then requested statements from me and the girls. I also took my daughter to the hospital for treatment,” he added. One of the abducted girls, Olaniyan said the kidnappers fed them with garri, among others, while they were in captivity, adding that they were also blind-folded.
She said, “The three of us were taken away through a hole they dug in the school, which led to a bush path.
“They put us in a canoe. I saw eleven men in the canoe and thy paddled the canoe for almost 30 minutes. We arrived at the spot at exactly 9:00pm. Getting there, they cut some wood and erect a temporary tent for us.
When we woke up the following morning, they cut a blue cloth, which they used to blindfold our eyes. Later, Deborah (Akinayo) complained that the blindfold was affecting her eyes. So, they removed the blindfold from our eyes.
“They were carrying long guns and they called themselves names like Forest, Shadow, Senior man, Tradition”
She said the kidnappers began asking them for their parents’ phone numbers and if they had money in their bank accounts.
She said the abductors on the second day brought a sack of garri, cartons juice, of bottle water, sardines and other drinks.
“They asked seven men to stay with us, but others were going and coming back.
“On Saturday, an old man came, whom they were calling, ‘Daddy’. When the man saw us, he shouted at them and they shouted back. They had a brief discussion and after staying for about thirty minutes, he received a phone call and they started threatening to kill us if our parents involved the police.
“On March 6, at about 5:30am, I was woken up and we were taken in a canoe by two armed members of the group.”
She said around 8a.m, they were dropped off on the main road at Igbokuta where they approached a motorcyclist, who then took them to a police station.
She said the police from there took them to the school.
Meanwhile, an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, has ordered that six suspected kidnappers of the students should be remanded in prison custody.
The Chief Magistrate, I.O. Adelaja, ordered that the Emmanuel defendants – Arigidi, Gift Pius, Omoni Fred, Owei Godfrey, Akanji Seun, and James Segun should be remanded pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
HOW WE PLANNED, EXECUTED LAGOS SCHOOL GIRLS’ KIDNAP
Paraded by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Special Intelligence Response Squad (IGPIRS) Team, three of the suspects, who abducted secondary school girls in Ikorodu, spoke to The Nation, giving graphic details of how they planned and carried out the operation.
Kidnap would have fetched me N5m, says first suspect
“My name is Omoni Fred Rufus. I am from Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. I am 32 years-old and I left secondary school in 2002, and I went into sawmill business. I was born in Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State. My father is a wood logger, while my mother is a fishmonger. I sell most of my wood at Ebute-Metta and I have never done anything criminal until last January.”
On his involvement in the kidnap of the girls, he said: “one of my friends, known as Bamidele, whom I have known for a long time, called me and said he had a job for me. This person I am talking about was arrested last year, and was charged to court for kidnapping and remanded in Ogun State prison.
“When he was released in January, he called me and said that one of his friends, who he said he met in prison, called and told him that he had a job for him. He said he wanted me to be part of the operation because I had a car. I asked him what kind of job it was and he told me that it was kidnapping, and that his friend who he identified as Gay, would like to meet him and me so that we arrange the operation.
“We met him the next day at a petrol station on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and when we met Gay, he told us that the man we were to kidnap was very rich and he was going to bring three more boys who would assist us. Gay explained that he was going to monitor the man’s movement and then he would alert us to his position to enable us kidnap him.
“The next day, I was in the same filling station with Bamidele, and Gay came with some boys and later left, but some few hours later, he called and gave us the description of the man’s car and his location, and when we sighted the car matching the description, we double-crossed the car and abducted the man.
“We took the man in my car into a forest along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and I left him with Bamidele and others and went home. Four days after, Bamidele called me and said that the man had been released and the sum of N 2.5million was paid as ran som. He told me that my share was N200, 000 and I should meet him at Ikorodu for the money.
“I was at Ibeju-Lekki when he called, and I left what I was doing and hurried to Ikorodu and met him in a fast food joint. He was with someone when I came in and that person introduced himself as Tradition. He is also from my hometown in Arugbo, just like Bamidele. I gave him NI, 000 from my share of the ransom, and he took my phone number and promised to call me.
“I also wish to remind you that two weeks ago, he called me that they had a kidnapping job and that it would not be stressful and it would fetch a huge sum of money. I asked him how much I should be looking at, and he said I could likely get N5 million as my share if we succeeded. My car had gear box issues and I took it for repairs at Ladipo Spare Parts Market in Mushin. I took a commercial bus to Ikorodu.
“When I met Tradition, he took me to Lamienmu who he said brought the job, and we met him and nine others on the Imota Bridge. They took me to the bush where they said we would keep the victims, but I wasn’t pleased with the arrangement.
Surprisingly, there was nothing on ground and Lamienmu bagged that we should bear with him. From that point, we moved to the school in four speedboats. Those who had guns came from the creek in Fatola, and when we got to the school, including Tradition and Lamienmu, we entered the school. Some others and I stood by the fence, waiting.
“When they brought one of the girls, I carried her into our boat and stayed with her. Others came later with the two other girls and when we went into the creek, we made wooden rafts for the girls to sleep and I slept inside one of the boats. The guys with the guns were on guard all through. Next, Lamienmu and Tradition interrogated the girls. One of them told us that her father was an engineer, while another told us that her father was a pastor.
“We took their parents’ phone numbers from them, and Tradition and Lamienmu called them (the parents) and demanded N200 million as ransom. After that, the girls told us that they were hungry.
We asked what they wanted to eat and they told us that they wanted Viju Milk, Lacasera and Indomie.
“Lamienmu’s younger brother, Gideon, was asked to go to town and get them. He went and came back safely, but three days later, when the things he bought got finished, he went into town and came back with the news that policemen were everywhere looking for the girl. The camp became apprehensive with the news and we started contemplating how to release the girls quietly.
“At a time, we reduced our demand to N30million. By Saturday, we saw Lamienmu’s father creeping into the camp. The guys with guns almost fired him, but what saved him was that he yelled that he was Lamienmu and he was allowed to come closer to be identified. He told us that the police had arrested his wife, Lamienmu’s sister and Tradition’s wife as well, but Lamienmu insisted that we must release the girls or he would kill himself.
“When he left, the camp was thrown into confusion, and when it settled, we all agreed that we should allow the girls to go. By 5:00a.m. on Sunday, Tradition and four others took the girls out of the camp and dropped them off. I waited till the next day before leaving the camp, and when I came out, I went to Ladipo and checked the mechanic who was working on my car, gave him some money and I went back into the creek.
“However, I had this feeling that the police were looking for me. By Thursday, the mechanic called and said he had finished with my car. Then I decided to pick it up and drive out of Lagos. When I got to Ladipo, I didn’t see the mechanic. I called him and he said he was at Iyana Ipaja, washing the car. When I got there, the police showed up and arrested me and accused me of being part of the gang that abducted the schoolgirls.
“But like I have told you, I am not a vandal. I work in a sawmill in Ibeju Lekki, but it was Tradition who brought me into this business.
We went from pipeline vandalism to kidnapping – second and third suspects
The second and third suspects, Wekemei Godfrey, 28, from Arogbo, Ondo State, and Priye Pius Gift, 26, who were both arrested in Mosebolatan Guest House in Ibafo, Ogun State, through one of their girlfriends, said they were pressured into joining the gang.
Godfrey confessed that Tradition, who is also known as Felix, recruited them. Narrating how he joined the gang, he said: “I started my life as a fisherman in Delta State and later relocated to Akwa
Ibom State. I was exporting Afang leaf to Cameroon and I was making a reasonable amount daily from the business. One day, I met Priye Pius and Tradition, and since we were all from the same town, we became friends. After a while, Tradition left us and went to Lagos, while Pius and I continued our business.
“Early last year, we started having issues with some militants while crossing into Cameroon. The militants were demanding so much money and when we didn’t give it to them, they normally destroyed our rods things worsened. Luckily, Tradition came and told us that fuel business was fetching him serious money in Arepo, and that we should come and join him. We immediately followed him to Lagos and he bought 100 50 litre jerry cans for both of us and we started going into the creek to fetch petrol from the pipelines.
“We normally paid the vandals controlling N5,000 and NI0,000, and they usually allowed us to load our jerry cans. Later, we took the jerry cans to shore and sold them for N1,000 each to Tradition who would resell to other people. We did this business until there was massive explosion at the site that killed so many people.
“Plus and I were just lucky. On the night that the incident happened, we decided to take a little rest from work. By 2:00a.m, we heard the massive explosion by morning, but when the fire died down, I went into the creek and assisted in the burial of those who were killed. I had a rethink of that business because of what I saw.
“Pius and I left Arepo and relocated to Majidun, and started doing bamboo business. We normally went into the forest to cut the bamboo and we used to sell them to people dredging sand, and they paid us between N25, 000 and N30, 000 but the problem with that business was that we didn’t sell all the time. Three weeks ago, Tradition came to our place here in Majidun and he told us that he wanted to take part in a kidnapping business. I told him that I was not interested because I had no one to help me if we were arrested.
“However, he pressurized Pius and I but we refused, and he went with some other guys and they didn’t succeed. He came to us again and said that the mason why they didn’t succeed was because they didn’t have enough manpower. He told us that the business was going to fetch us good money, and because we are his friends, he would want us to take part in it. I accepted reluctantly, and by evening of the day we were to go for the operation, I told my girl- friend that I was going to spend some time with some of my brothers. Pius and I met Tradition at the agreed spot, and we went to the creek and from there, we drove to the school in three speedboat.
At the scene of operation that fateful day, Pius and I stood by the fence watching for anyone approaching. After they had abducted the girls and taken them to the forest, Pius and I prepared the raft and left. We were also the ones taking them to defecate whenever they were pressed. You can confirm from the girls whether I was nice to them or not. If you ask the girls, they will tell
you that Pius and I were very nice to them.
“We were also part of the team that went and dropped them. We took them under the bridge and gave them money, and asked them to climb on the bridge and seek help. When we left the camp, I called my girlfriend to be careful because I had done something nasty and she should watch her movement because the police might come for her or me. I later told her to meet me at the hotel where I lodged in Ogun State because I thought it would be difficult for the police in Lagos to trace us to that place. But I don’t know how they arrested my girlfriend, and she brought them to the hotel where I was lodged and they arrested me.”
THE SUSPICION OF AN INSIDER AMONG THE KIDNAPPERS
When the news about the school girls’ abduction was first broken, it was generally believed that there must be an insider among the kidnappers, who might be living around the school vicinity or working in the school, who would have given the bandits vital information that allowed the dastardly act to be so brazenly carried out.
This suspicion was, however, confirmed when it was reported that one of the gang, who went for the operation, masked his face to shield his identity.
This was further confirmed by a reliable source, who work in the school, in an interview with Oriwu Sun that the abducted girls, upon their resumption to the school after their release, said that one of their abductors always put on mask whenever he wanted to come to where they kept them.
The implication of this is that the person behind the mask could be someone that is well known to the students and did not want his identity known to them.