The police in Delta State investigating the kidnapping of four British missionaries said yesterday that they had arrested two persons suspected of involvement while a third was killed in a shoot-out at the gang’s hideout.
The Britons, from a Christian medical charity providing free healthcare in villages in Delta State were abducted on October 13.
The foreign ministry in London announced on Monday that three of the hostages were released and returned home safely while a fourth was killed in captivity, without giving further details.
Delta State police spokesman, Andrew Aniamaka, said two suspects were arrested in Warri on Wednesday. After questioning, they led officers to their hideout, about 40 kilometres to the north in the town of Sapele.
“At Sapele, the team had tried to arrest a third suspect, who immediately brought out a Beretta pistol in an attempt to shoot at the operatives. This led to a shoot-out, which resulted in the death of the suspect while others fled the scene.”
Two officers were shot and injured and were said to be in a stable condition in hospital, he added. Four people suspected of involvement in the abduction had already been arrested on October 19.
Meanwhile, the police high command yesterday paraded 16 suspected kidnappers and armed robbery gangs who specialise in snatching cars and terrorising motorists along the Abuja-Kaduna, Abuja-Minna-Bida, Birnin Gwari-Funtua and Abuja-Lokoja highways.
Parading the suspects at Sabon Wuse in Niger State, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Jimoh Moshood, said the suspected kidnappers and armed robbery gangs belong to four different gangs, adding that some of the suspects use military uniforms as bait to get their victims.
The suspects included Abdulkareem Isah, Mohammed Mustapha, Yunusa Mohammed, Ahmadu Musa, Bashir Yero, Abdullahi Mohammed, Tanko Isah, Usman Adamu.
Others are: Yakubu Suleiman, Usman Ibrahim, Ahmed Suleiman, Isah Suleiman, Abdulmalik Sadiq, Usman Bawa, Sani Ahmed, and Alex Egor.
Also, the Kaduna State Police Command arrested a woman for allegedly trafficking of 21 children in Gwagwalada.
According to the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Mukhtar Aliyu, a parent of one of the victims earlier reported to the police in Kafanchan on November 3 about her missing child.
“Police commenced investigation and arrested some persons in the area. Interrogation revealed that a woman took the child back to Gwagwalada. We went to Gwagwalada but the woman had already been arrested by our federal operation officers in connection with another case.
The police however rescued 21 children that were seen at the premises of the alleged woman who claimed to be running an orphanage home.”
