Following the arrest of the masterminds of the kidnapping of pupils and staff members of the Nigerian-Turkish International Colleges; 29 year old Phil
Following the arrest of the masterminds of the kidnapping of pupils and staff members of the Nigerian-Turkish International Colleges; 29 year old Philip Kakadu, aka General Kakadu, 40 year old Romeo Council, aka Raw and other suspects in Warri, Delta State, by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, police operatives have decided to lay low to give the kidnappers a chance to release the victims by tomorrow. Having garnered enough insights into the movements of the suspects in the creeks, the police team might advance into the creeks if the kidnappers fail to surrender the victims by tomorrow, Saturday.
Gunmen had invaded the NTIC premises last Friday through a hole dug under the school fence and seized three pupils, a matron, a Turkish teacher, a supervisor and two intending candidates of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. The kidnappers had contacted the matron’s husband, demanding N100m ransom as security agents explored means to weaken the gang by picking up their ringleaders; Philip Kakadu aka General Kakadu and Romeo Council aka Raw. While Council is a native of the Bomadi Local Government Area, Delta State, Kakadu hails from Warri North LGA of the state.
They not only confessed to orchestrating the kidnapping at the school, they also confessed to other kidnappings, including the abduction of the Iba monarch in Lagos, and some Isheri landlords. Kakadu allegedly told the police that five of his boys were among those involved in the NTIC operation. Restraints are being exercised by the team to clearly map out strategies to explore without endangering the victims’ lives if they have to storm the hideouts of the suspects in the creeks.
“With the arrest of the masterminds, the gang is now under pressure to let go of the abductees. They are, however, still playing their cards, hoping to get some ransoms before releasing the victims.
“We have studied their movements to a great extent and dissect our operational strategies. They have 48 hours to let go of the victims. Our major concern is to secure their release first.
“The gang has forced us to reassess our intelligence and operational techniques. We are on top of the game and in about two days’ time, expect impressive results,” said a police official.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspects’ last option was to release the victims.
He said, “The heat is on them seriously. We are making every effort to ensure that the victims are released unhurt. We are hopeful our efforts will yield positive results very soon.”
