Four days after he was abducted by members of a
kidnap gang in Lagos, the victim, a Briton was Sunday rescued by
police operatives attached to the Lagos State Police Command after
detailed investigation led to the discovery of the gang's hideout.
The state command had on Friday expressed optimism that
the Briton, who was abducted on Wednesday along the Murtala Muhammed Airport
Road, Ikeja, would be rescued going by the information at their disposal.
It was gathered that a combined team of operatives drawn
from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) led by the Officer-in-Charge, SP
Abba Kyari and and their counterpart from the Special Intelligence Bureau
(SIB), had uncovered the suspects hideout.
The operatives of both units were said to have stormed the
uncompleted two-storey building at the Okota-Isolo area of the state and
rescued the victim.
Although the team had also arrested one of the gang
members, it was not clear if the other gang members had fled based on a tip-off
that the rescue team were on the way.
However, sources said the kidnappers had initially demanded
a ransom of $1 million but had expressed willingness to negotiate.
Police sources said the detectives were able to track the
suspects through the phone number they had used to contact the family of the
victim to negotiate the terms of the ransom.
Although attempts to confirm from the state Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP Ngozi Braide, proved abortive as she did not answer the
several calls put across to her, she had however in an earlier interview said that
the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, had detailed a crack team
of investigators to unravel the incident and rescue the victim from the
clutches of his abductors.
The Briton was abducted after the kidnappers had first
opened fire on the vehicle conveying him to his destination, which left the
driver injured.
Tags
Society