A notorious kidnap kingpin identified as Usman Hassan has been arrested by the Ogun State Command of the Nigerian Police.
TrackNews Online understands Hassan had previously been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command but escaped from custody.
It was gathered that Hassan and his accomplices kidnapped a farmer at Solalu village in Oyo State, collected ransom but eventually kidnapped the man.
They were thereafter arrested but Hassan escaped and fled to Ogun State.
He attempted to gather a new team in Ogun State but Police got wind of his operations and stormed his hideout in Imala area where he was arrested.
“On getting to Ogun State, he started recruiting other men to form another kidnap gang in Ogun State,” the Ogun police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi disclosed.
“He ran out of luck when detectives of Ogun State police Command got information about his activity from those he had tried to recruit into his kidnap team.”
“On interrogation, he confessed that he conspired with his biological brother, one Tahiru Usman and others to kidnap their victim in Akinyele area of Ibadan and that they decided to kill the man after collecting ransom because the man can identify them,” the Police PRO added.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State, Adams Kefas, has disclosed that N14 million was paid to spiritualists and vigilantes to fight banditry in the council.
Kefas made this known on Monday during an interrogation before the Justice Halima Ibrahim Abdulmalik Judicial Commission of Inquiry investigating the suspended Chairman of Shiroro LGA, Suleiman Dauda Chukuba, over a petition on alleged misappropriation of N50million tenement rate.
He said some of the spiritualists were brought in from Akare in Wushishi Local Government Area in Niger state and others from Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna state.
Kefas said some of the vigilante groups were from the council while others were brought in from Chikun LGA to help combat insecurity in the council.
The council boss said engagement of the spiritualists was carried out on the directive of the embattled chairman, saying the decision was based on advice by residents in the area.
Kefas said the advisors told them a lot of communities being attacked by bandits had engaged the services of spiritualists and they succeeded in resolving the security challenges in the communities.
He said he was initially not told he was going to negotiate with spiritualists until he got there.
