The mastermind of the kidnap of three Australians working
for Lafarge Cememnt Company in Cross River state, Samuel Asuquo, has been
arrested by Department of State Service operatives. This was contained in a
press statement released by the spokesperson of the DSS, Tony Opuiyo.
The statement adds that a gang of kidnappers that had
earlier kidnapped five Igbo women and collected the sum of Thirteen Million
Naira (N13m) as ransom have also been arrested. Also arrested is a Boko Haram
IED specialist in Kano state. Read statement after the cut.
As part of its commitment towards improving security across
the country, the Department of State Services (DSS), has sustained tactical and
counter-terrorism operations which have yielded major successes with the arrest
of terrorists and other criminals across the country.
2. On 22nd August, 2016, one Samuel ASUQUO, a kidnap kingpin
was arrested by the Service at Nasarawa Bakoko village in Cross River State.
ASUQUO was the mastermind of the kidnap of three (3) Australian staff of Lafarge
Cement Company, for which his gang received ransom of one hundred and fifty
million Naira (N150m)
3. Similarly, on 30th August, 2016, the trio of Bamaiyi
MUSTAPHA (aka Dan Borno), Aminu ISA and Hassan SHEHU, members of a notorious
kidnap gang operating around the Abuja-Kaduna axis, were arrested at Lafia,
Nasarawa State. The gang had earlier kidnapped five (5) Igbo women and
collected the sum of Thirteen Million Naira (N13m) as ransom. They were
subsequently arrested by the Service while planning a high profile kidnap in
Abuja.
4. In another operation carried out same day at Tamburawa
village along Kano-Zaria Expressway, Kano State, Alhassan MUSA and Ado Yusuf,
members of a notorious kidnap/armed robbery syndicate operating from Falgore
forest in Doguwa LGA, Kano State, were also apprehended.
5. On 19th August, 2016, two (2) kidnappers operating in
Zamfara and its environs were arrested. They are Abdulrasheed IBRAHIM and Aliyu
UMAR. The duo had been terrorizing residents of the area along with a kidnap
group headed by Buhari General who is still at large.
6. Also, on 26th August, 2016, two (2) notorious kidnappers,
armed robbers and assassins; Moses ACHIA and Fanen IGBETAR, were arrested at
Kperlegba Village, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State. One (1)
AK-47 rifle, five (5) fully loaded AK-47 magazines, one hundred and fifty
rounds of live ammunition and one pistol loaded with fifteen rounds of live
ammunition were recovered from them. The syndicate had planned to kidnap a
female business tycoon in Makurdi, Benue State.
7. On 3rd Sept, 2016, a kidnapping gang under the
coordination of one Sunny ISAAC/late, which has been terrorizing residents in
States of the South-East zone, was busted by the Service at Aba in Abia State.
Prior to their arrest, the gang had masterminded series of kidnapping incidents
in the State, including the abduction of one Uche IKONNE/f, an American citizen
in the State. Other members of the gang arrested by the Service include Nnaoma
AMAK, Chiedozie EBERE, Bartholomew MICHEAL, Chinweotito INNOCENT and Celestine
IKARANGWAN, while the following items were recovered on them during the time of
arrest; the sum of Four Hundred Thousand Naira only (N400,000.00), a
Double-Barrel gun with two (2) live ammunition, a Toyota-Corolla car, a
Volkswagen Golf car, and the mobile cellphone of the IKONNE/f.
8. In another development, this Service has arrested one
Abbas MOHAMMED at Asokoro, Abuja. Subject was sending several threat messages
to the Ukranian Ambassador to Nigeria. Preliminary investigation revealed that
MOHAMMED was formerly employed by the embassy as a driver but he began
threatening his former employer after losing his job arising from observed
gross acts of insubordination from him to his employers.
9. On the economic front, this Service is currently
intensifying action against high level fraudsters whose unwholesome activities
is negatively affecting investors confidence with multiplier risk to genuine
businesses nationwide. Accordingly, one Izuagie MOHAMMED was arrested in Benin
City, Edo State on 24th August, 2016, for impersonating the Accountant General
of the Federation. MOHAMMED had already defrauded unsuspecting members of the
public posing as the Nigerian AGF on Facebook and promising them facilitation
of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) empowerment loan, before he was apprehended by
the Service.
10. In a further action, on 28th August, 2016, Taiye ALADE
and Ajoke KOLAWOLE were also arrested by the Service at Fabian Hotel,
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The duo had cloned the GSM number of the Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (GMD NNPC), and were
using it to defraud his close associates.
11. Also, one Mike EWUGBARA a known child trafficker was
arrested at Okigwe, Imo State on 26th August, 2016. Three (3) kidnapped
children were rescued from his hideout including one Miracle who was abducted
in Benue State.
12. In response to the regrouping of Boko Haram elements in
Kano State, the Service in concert with the military, carried out coordinated
operations in the State which led to the apprehension of two (2) high profile
members of the sect, namely; Ibrahim Ustaz ABUBAKAR and Idris AUDU (aka AYA).
AUDU is an IED specialist who was being groomed to penetrate security agencies
in the country. AUDU had already perfected plans to seek for recruitment into
the next recruitment scheme of the Nigeria Army, before his arrest.
13. The Service wishes to assure all law abiding citizens
and residents that it will not rest on its oars in its determination to ensure
a safe environment for all to carry out their legitimate business. We call on
members of the public to support this effort by providing useful information to
security agencies.
Tony OPUIYO
Department of State Services
Abuja.
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