Bayelsa police nab soldier, engineer for kidnap

THE Bayelsa Police Command, on Saturday, arrested two suspects, a serving soldier and an engineer, for allegedly kidnapping a lady in Warri, Delta on April 4, 2017.

The  suspects were paraded before newsmen by the Bayelsa Police Commissioner, Mr Asuquo Amba.

He said the suspects abducted one Aya Beauty, aged 25, from Warri, and took her to Bayelsa, where the victim was kept captive in a hotel, while a ransom of N24 million was demanded from her family.

The command said it also arrested a former soldier with a military pistol along Zarama road on the East-West road during a stop-and-search operation.

Amba said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as ongoing investigations into their crimes were concluded.

He said the command had benefited from community involvement through active participation of neighbourhood watch and vigilance groups.

He said the command has resolved to work closely with traditional institutions, security stakeholders, non governmental organisations, youth groups and all relevant agencies.

On the abduction of Beauty, Amba explained that the N24 million ransom was later reduced to N11 million, later to N200,000 before the kidnappers ran out of luck.

He said before the suspects were arrested by the police, the fiancé of the victim had paid N200,000 to the suspected kidnappers.

The commissioner advised sister security agencies to ensure that dismissed officers were profiled and stripped of ammunition, to check the menace of criminally-minded ex-servicemen who used illicit weapons to terrorise the society.