DSS arrest mastermind of the kidnap of three Australians in Cross River

DSS arrest mastermind of the kidnap of three Australians in Cross River

The mastermind of the kidnap of three Australians working for Lafarge Cememnt Company in Cross Rivers state, Samuel Asuquo, has been arrested by Department of State Service operatives. This was contained in a press statement released by the spokesperson of the DSS, Tony Opuiyo. 

The statement adds that a gang of kidnappers that had earlier kidnapped five Igbo women and collected the sum of Thirteen Million Naira (N13m) as ransom have also been arrested. Also arrested is a Boko Haram IED specialist in Kano state. Read the statement after the cut....

As part of its commitment towards improving security across the country, the Department of State Services (DSS), has sustained tactical and counter-terrorism operations which have yielded major successes with the arrest of terrorists and other criminals across the country.

2. On 22nd August, 2016, one Samuel ASUQUO, a kidnap kingpin was arrested by the Service at Nasarawa Bakoko village in Cross River State. ASUQUO was the mastermind of the kidnap of three (3) Australian staff of Lafarge Cement Company, for which his gang received ransom of one hundred and fifty million Naira (N150m)

3. Similarly, on 30th August, 2016, the trio of Bamaiyi MUSTAPHA (aka Dan Borno), Aminu ISA and Hassan SHEHU, members of a notorious kidnap gang operating around the Abuja-Kaduna axis, were arrested at Lafia, Nasarawa State. The gang had earlier kidnapped five (5) Igbo women and collected the sum of Thirteen Million Naira (N13m) as ransom. They were subsequently arrested by the Service while planning a high profile kidnap in Abuja.

4. In another operation carried out same day at Tamburawa village along Kano-Zaria Expressway, Kano State, Alhassan MUSA and Ado Yusuf, members of a notorious kidnap/armed robbery syndicate operating from Falgore forest in Doguwa LGA, Kano State, were also apprehended.

5. On 19th August, 2016, two (2) kidnappers operating in Zamfara and its environs were arrested. They are Abdulrasheed IBRAHIM and Aliyu UMAR. The duo had been terrorizing residents of the area along with a kidnap group headed by Buhari General who is still at large.

6. Also, on 26th August, 2016, two (2) notorious kidnappers, armed robbers and assassins; Moses ACHIA and Fanen IGBETAR, were arrested at Kperlegba Village, Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State. One (1) AK-47 rifle, five (5) fully loaded AK-47 magazines, one hundred and fifty rounds of live ammunition and one pistol loaded with fifteen rounds of live ammunition were recovered from them. The syndicate had planned to kidnap a female business tycoon in Makurdi, Benue State.

7. On 3rd Sept, 2016, a kidnapping gang under the coordination of one Sunny ISAAC/late, which has been terrorizing residents in States of the South-East zone, was busted by the Service at Aba in Abia State. Prior to their arrest, the gang had masterminded series of kidnapping incidents in the State, including the abduction of one Uche IKONNE/f, an American citizen in the State. Other members of the gang arrested by the Service include Nnaoma AMAK, Chiedozie EBERE, Bartholomew MICHEAL, Chinweotito INNOCENT and Celestine IKARANGWAN, while the following items were recovered on them during the time of arrest; the sum of Four Hundred Thousand Naira only (N400,000.00), a Double-Barrel gun with two (2) live ammunition, a Toyota-Corolla car, a Volkswagen Golf car, and the mobile cellphone of the IKONNE/f.

8. In another development, this Service has arrested one Abbas MOHAMMED at Asokoro, Abuja. Subject was sending several threat messages to the Ukranian Ambassador to Nigeria. Preliminary investigation revealed that MOHAMMED was formerly employed by the embassy as a driver but he began threatening his former employer after losing his job arising from observed gross acts of insubordination from him to his employers.

9. On the economic front, this Service is currently intensifying action against high level fraudsters whose unwholesome activities is negatively affecting investors confidence with multiplier risk to genuine businesses nationwide. Accordingly, one Izuagie MOHAMMED was arrested in Benin City, Edo State on 24th August, 2016, for impersonating the Accountant General of the Federation. MOHAMMED had already defrauded unsuspecting members of the public posing as the Nigerian AGF on Facebook and promising them facilitation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) empowerment loan, before he was apprehended by the Service.

10. In a further action, on 28th August, 2016, Taiye ALADE and Ajoke KOLAWOLE were also arrested by the Service at Fabian Hotel, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The duo had cloned the GSM number of the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (GMD NNPC), and were using it to defraud his close associates.

11. Also, one Mike EWUGBARA a known child trafficker was arrested at Okigwe, Imo State on 26th August, 2016. Three (3) kidnapped children were rescued from his hideout including one Miracle who was abducted in Benue State.

12. In response to the regrouping of Boko Haram elements in Kano State, the Service in concert with the military, carried out coordinated operations in the State which led to the apprehension of two (2) high profile members of the sect, namely; Ibrahim Ustaz ABUBAKAR and Idris AUDU (aka AYA). AUDU is an IED specialist who was being groomed to penetrate security agencies in the country. AUDU had already perfected plans to seek for recruitment into the next recruitment scheme of the Nigeria Army, before his arrest.

13. The Service wishes to assure all law abiding citizens and residents that it will not rest on its oars in its determination to ensure a safe environment for all to carry out their legitimate business. We call on members of the public to support this effort by providing useful information to security agencies.

Tony OPUIYO
Department of State Services
Abuja.

4th September, 2016.

01:16:00