Police Arrest 24 Suspected Kidnappers In Taraba

Twenty-four kidnap suspects have been arrested by operatives of the Special Tactical Squad of the Inspector General of Police, in Taraba State, but one of them died from gunshot wounds.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal, disclosed this to newsmen on Monday in the state capital, Jalingo.

Misal said the leader of the gang was killed, during a gunfight between the police team and the suspects.

According to the police spokesman, the gang leader, simply identified as Gagare, was brutally injured in the fire exchange which led to his death shortly after arriving at the Police Command Headquarters in Jalingo.

One Alhaji Dauda, Misal said, was kidnapped by the suspects, and was eventually killed after collecting a ransom, some few months ago.

He added that they had been terrorising residents of Wukari, Ardo-Kola, and Kurmi Local Government Areas of the state.

The PPRO explained that the police have been on the trail of the suspects for a while and after intelligence gathering, they stormed their hideouts which led to their arrests and recovery of arms.

He disclosed that the gang also abducted and inflicted injuries on one Boyi Garba, a resident of Kurmi LGA.

Misal said they collected a ransom of N1.7 million and later kidnapped his wife while a ransom of N1.2 million was paid before the couple regained their freedom.

He, therefore, warned criminally minded individuals in the state to desist from the nefarious acts of kidnapping and other crimes.

The police public relations officer also asked them to surrender their weapons and have a rethink as the command would not relent in its effort to rid Taraba of barbaric acts.

All the suspects confessed to have committed the offence for which they were accused.