The Nigeria Police Force are close to rescuing abductees of the Turkish school in Ogun State after trailing and arresting prominent members of the kidnapping syndicate.
The entrance of the school
This was even as police authorities have vowed not to engage in negotiations for payment of ransom with abductors of the students and staff. News also filtered out yesterday that worried and frantic parents have been divided over amount to contribute in order to get their children and wards released, according to the New Telegraph.
The two suspects were alleged to have been tracked and arrested at different locations. It was learnt that one of the kidnappers, simply identified as ‘Commander General,’ was arrested in the creek, while the second, whose identity is yet unknown, was arrested in Arogbo area, Ondo State on Monday night.
According to sources, detectives stormed the creek and swooped on Commander General, while he was in bed with two women. The police recovered a big Mikano Generator, which was planted close to the kidnapper’s makeshift house in the creek. The second suspect was arrested in Arogbo, Ondo State, by a decoy team of policemen deployed in the community.
A police source said: “The Special Intelligence Respond Team (IRT), deployed by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, from Abuja, is closing in on the kidnappers and several suspects, including two prime suspects, already in police net.”
In another development, it was gathered that there was a serious disagreement between victims’ parents on the amount to pay for ransom.
A source at the school said: “Some parents of the victims were of the opinion that they should pool resources together and pay the kidnappers N15 million for all the victims, while others think they should push for N50 million, to facilitate fast release of the victims.”
When a correspondent visited the school yesterday, mobile policemen were still seen manning strategic locations within the school premises.
The gunmen, numbering about 20, who were armed to the teeth, stormed the school premises around 9:30pm on Friday night, broke the fence and abducted the female students in their hostels along with five non-teaching staff.
Meanwhile, police authorities in Ogun State; have vowed not to engage in negotiations for payment of ransom with the abductors.
This position came against the backdrop of reports that the suspected kidnappers that invaded the school on Friday night had demanded N1.2 billion ransom before releasing the victims.
Speaking on efforts to rescue the victims, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the security agencies were close to apprehending the kidnappers.