A 33-year-old dismissed personnel of the Department of State Services, Sunday Travnor, who hails from Ovi Local Government Area, in Nasarawa State, was among a gang of kidnappers, recently arrested by the police, following a recent clamp down on their activities across the states.
Disclosing this to The Point, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Chief Superintendent Moshood Jimoh, revealed that the arrested persons had confessed to the kidnap of one Alhaji Isa Ozi Salami, who was the former General Manager, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Managing Director, Nigeria Paper Mills, Jebba and Chairman, Gateway Insurance.
The police image maker hinted further that arms and ammunition were recovered from the suspects.
Others said to have been part of the kidnap gang were: Kelvin Emeka, 28-year-old native of Owgu Local Government Area of Enugu State and the overall leader of the gang; Ndubusi Prince Ozor, 31-year-old native of Nsukwato Local Government Area of Abia State and second in command; Abdulrasheed Maigari, 35-year-old native of Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State; dismissed DSS personnel, Travnor 33-year-old native of Ovi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State; Zayor Alfred, 23-year-old native of Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State; Avah Joseph, 25-year-old native of Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State, who guards kidnap victims; Gabriel Friday, 33-year-old native of Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State and the gang’s driver and Rajab Baba Ishiaka, 22-year-old native of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, another kidnap victims’ guard.
Others members of the gang include: Ali Sani, 27-year old native of Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, kidnap victims’ guard; Nuhu Sule, 20-year-old native of Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State, another kidnap victims’ guard and Mohammed Abubakar, 21-year-old native of Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, and supplier of registered SIM cards to the gang.
The Point was told that the exhibits recovered from the arrested persons include: one AK-47 rifle, three AK-47 magazines, 90 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, two pistols, 14 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, and two bedroom flats at different locations in Suleja.
Recall that sequel to the Inspector General of Police’s directive on the kidnap of Alhaji Salami, the operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response team had jointly with the Anti-Kidnap Squad of the FCT Police Command swung into action, and after five days of painstaking and sustained surveillance between 26 and 28 March, successfully arrested 11 members of the gang of kidnappers.
The gang leader, Emeka, had earlier been arraigned at Gwagwalada High Court in October 2016, with three others for kidnapping and armed robbery, after kidnapping a female victim and several others in Abuja.
Emeka and his gang members, according to reports, were released by the court on December 12, 2016, less than eight weeks after being charged for kidnapping and armed robbery.
Further checks revealed that 31-year-old Ozor, said to be the second in command, was also charged to court for armed robbery in November, 2016 and was released by the court on January 25.
Another suspect, Maigari, 35-year-old native of Donga council, who is a 2006 Political Science graduate of the Bayero University Kano, recruited into DSS as a graduate officer, in September 2011, and was dismissed and charged to court on November 12, 2015 for allegedly stealing N310 million, in connivance with some dismissed Army personnel in Abuja.
He was released by the court on November 28, 2016, and he immediately joined the kidnap gang in Abuja and soon became the coordinator of the gang and also rented the two houses in Suleija, where they kept their victims.
Tyavnor was said to be the gang’s arms dealer, who sold the AK-47 rifle used for the kidnappings for N470,000 and the two pistols for ₦60,000 each. His arrest took place in Nasarawa State.
Alfred, who secured kidnapped victims from escaping, was arrested in the camp where the victim was rescued.
The police image maker said the suspects would be arraigned in court at the end of investigations.
