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Abdullahi Muhammadu, an officer of the Department of State Services testified in a Federal High Court in Ibadan that local security personnel played a crucial role in aiding the arrest of suspected kidnappers in Oyo State. He mentioned that during an operation along Iganna Road, local vigilantes had engaged the kidnappers before the DSS team took over. The suspects confessed to being part of a kidnapping gang terrorizing Okeogun and travelers on Iganna routes.
Moreover, two of the arrested kidnappers, Aliyu Muhammadu and Idris Umar, were among the 400 inmates who escaped during the 2021 jailbreak in Oyo Town. They confessed to robbing victims of N1.2 million, with N500,000 recovered during the investigation. One victim identified Umar as a kidnapper who held him hostage, stating the gang initially demanded N50 million but agreed to accept N10 million before being intercepted by vigilantes.
The prosecution counsel, Mrs. Aderonke Imama, presented the confessional statements of the defendants in court. However, the Defense Counsel, Mr. Femi Oyinloye, opposed the tendering of these statements, claiming that the defendants’ relatives were not present during their writing and that pre-trial access was denied.
During re-examination, the witness clarified that lawyers from the Legal Aid Council witnessed the defendants making their confessions. Subsequently, Justice Akpan admitted the confessional statements and adjourned the case for further trial on March 11. The defendants, Aliyu Muhammadu and Idris Umar, both 22 years old, face charges including hostage-taking, highway robbery, illegal possession of firearms, and escape from correctional facilities.