By Nicholas Kalu The Nigeria Police on Wednesday paraded a 52-year old pastor, Adetokunbo Adenokpo, for allegedly abducting a disp...
By Nicholas Kalu
The Nigeria Police on Wednesday paraded a 52-year old
pastor, Adetokunbo Adenokpo, for allegedly abducting a dispatch rider and
detaining him in an underground facility in his church in Sagamu, Lagos.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, paraded
Adenokpo alongside 34 other suspects for various offences, at the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
The pastor said he decided to go into kidnapping to raise
money to donate to charity.
He said with the upcoming Sallah festivities, he had no
money, and had to raise money to buy items like rice, beans, palm oil and ram
to distribute to the needy.
DCP Mba said the dispatch rider with Glory Master Logistics,
Job Ekpe Jonathan, who mainly distributes Forever Living products was abducted
by Adenokpo and his gang when he went to deliver some items in his church.
Mba said the pastor, who is the General Overseer of Newlife
Church of God located at Sagamu, injected Jonathan with anesthesia to weaken
him so they could tie him up easily.
The police had launched an investigation and eventually
rescued Jonathan where he was detained in the underground facility in the
church.
Read Also: Kidnapped Benue businessman freed
The pastor, who was arrested with his accomplices, said he
was 22 years in the ministry having being ordained in Ibadan.
“In my church we do charity, where I share food and
palliative to people and this became stronger during the COVID-19. I felt pity
for people and I don’t have any money in my account and people still come to me
for help,” he said.
He said the underground facility where he detained Jonathan
was built when he was attacked by some persons some time ago and it was for him
to escape into whenever his assailants came.
He said he also kept some young men around him for
protection.
“A few weeks ago we were short of funds. So I had the idea
of doing something for Ileya so I can get some bags of rice and beans and palm
oil and other things to share, and probably with a ram, which we can cut and
give to poor people and we thought we should get money from the rich companies
and then raise money and use it to take care of poor people.
“The three of us were involved in the kidnap of Jonathan
with the hope of raising funds for the Ileya. I injected him because he was
struggling I did not want him to be injured,” he said.
DCP Mba said another four man gang that operate within the
South East part of the country led by one Udodiri Bright Chikezie, 27, a South
Africa returnee was also arrested.
He said the gang, which has killed four persons, started
kidnapping in 2018 and had carried out about 10 operations successfully.
Also arrested was another gang led by one Musa Umar, who
carried out most of their operations around Katsina State.
Mba said Umar confessed to killing five persons with
machetes.
The FPRO said a total of 35 suspects were arrested for
different cases from armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling and car theft
to unlawful possession of weapons and other sundry offenses.
“A total of four AK 47 rifles, 361 rounds of live AK 47
ammunitions and five other weapons of different makes were recovered from this
different gangs. Also recovered from one of the hands and anti-tracking device.
This is the second time we are recovering a jammer or anti tracking device from
established car theft syndicate.
“In a particular case where the anti-tracking device was
recovered we discovered one suspect who is still at large had procured some
Nigerians and provided them with the devices and commissioned them to go on a
car stealing spree. A total of 30 cars of different makes mainly Toyota and
Honda products have been stolen by the syndicate. Our operatives from IRT have
successfully recovered 18 out of these vehicles,” Mba said.
Source
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