A member of a kidnappers’ gang which abducted the daughter of the
Special Adviser to the Kwara State Governor on Political Matters, Alhaji Usman
Bibire, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command.
It was learnt that Bibire’s 20-year-old daughter,
Sa-adat, was abducted by the gang on Thursday, November 6, in Uzoro, Delta
State.
It was learnt that the kidnappers, who were students of a polytechnic in
Delta State, had opened a fake Facebook
account where they posed as Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
According to the police, the gang allegedly lured Sa-adat, who was a
recent winner of a beauty pageant, to come over to Delta as Dangote was ready
to make her a brand ambassador of Dangote Noodles.
The victim travelled from Lagos to Warri to meet the gang, from where
she was driven away to Uzoro and locked up in a hideout.
It was learnt that the gang, which abducted the lady
for about two weeks, allegedly demanded a ransom of N20m from the special
adviser’s family.
It was gathered that upon the information received
by the police on Thursday, November 20, the Special Anti-robbery Squad team
headed for Uzoro, Delta State, where they secured the release of Sa-adat.
The police also arrested Patrick Ifada, a member of the gang, while
other gang members fled on suspecting the police’s presence.
Speaking with on Wednesday, 23-year-old Ifada said the gang had set up a
bank account in Malaysia where they instructed Bibire to pay the ransom.
He said, “We opened a fake Facebook
account bearing Alhaji Aliko Dangote. We met the lady on Facebook as a beauty pageant winner
and convinced her to come to Delta State. We said she would sign an endorsement
with a company under the Dangote Group.
“She fell for the bait and came. When she arrived in Warri, we sent a
taxi cab to meet her and she was taken to Uzoro our base. While she was with
us, we made her to call her parents in Lagos and we demanded a N20m ransom.
“I was the one assigned to stay with her in the hideout. She was with us
for about two weeks.
“We asked the special adviser to pay the money into a Malaysian account
we had set up. It was owned by one Fred.”
Ifada, who claimed to be a National Diploma 1 student of the
polytechnic, added that he was warned by the gang leader, identified simply as
Destiny, not to rape or assault the lady.
“The five of us in the gang are students of the polytechnic. I accepted
to join the gang because of the money they promised to pay me.
“Nobody raped her while I stayed with her. Destiny warned us that we
were to make money from her family and not to assault her,” he said.
It was learnt that the police arrested Ifada and rescued the victim
inside a private school’s hostel on Onitsha Street, Uzoro, Delta State, which
they used as a hideout.
Other fleeing members of the gang were identified as Destiny, Omajuwa,
Ugada and Chuka.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Aderanti, while noting
that efforts were on to arrest the fleeing members of the gang, assured Lagos
residents of a crime-free yuletide.
He said, “We received the complaint in Lagos from the S.A. and I
promised him that my men were going to rescue his daughter.
“Two decoy teams were deployed in Warri and after seven days, the victim
was rescued in a house on the outskirt of Uzoro in the Isoko South local
Government Area of Delta State.
“Efforts are on to arrest other gang members presently at large.
“Once again, I assure residents of Lagos that the police will ensure a
crime-free Yuletide as we reduce crime to the barest minimum.”
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