The alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of the a former minister of education, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, has been arrested by the Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team.
At the time of the kidnapping, police had arrested two suspects. However IRT got pointers that revealed a man, Ikechukwu Daniel, as the leader of the gang.
Daniel, who said that he started kidnapping back in 2014 after being released from the Agodi Prison in Ibadan, Oyo State, also confessed that he and his gang planned to kidnap Otedola at a function in Ibadan in November 2015, but called off the operation due to the presence of heavy security personnel.
“It would have been impossible because the security there was heavy that day. We decided to take our time and prepare well for the operation,” he reportedly confessed.
He also added that somebody working with Otedola brought them the job.
“The person told us that he was going to be in Ibadan and when we went there, we realised that there was heavy security presence around him. I told my gang members that we had to prepare well for the operation to be successful.
“I told them we needed to do a sacrifice and fortify ourselves spiritually before attempting to kidnap him.
Then, we decided that we also needed army, DSS and police uniforms because without impersonation, there was no way we could get him.
“The man who brought the job was supposed to monitor his movements regularly. I already planned that if we abducted him successfully, it would have been my last job because I would have demanded N2bn and maybe we would have negotiated for N500m.”
According to Sahara Reporters, Daniel, who was apprehended in June 2016 in Festac, Lagos, was arrested after IRT operatives nabbed one Mohammed Bubuga who led Police to Daniel’s hideout.
IRT revealed to Punch that the suspect, who is from Imo State grew up in Kaduna where he teaches Fulani kidnappers how to evade arrest using ICT skills he had learned.
He added that at the time the former minister of education was kidnapped, his gang members had wanted to kill her after
her family members refused to pay the ransom for her release.
“Mohammed Babuga had been discharged from prison ahead of me. When I first started, all I was doing was negotiating ransom anytime we kidnapped anybody.
“When we kidnapped the woman (Senator Anisulowo) I was the one who ensured that the woman was not killed because her family refused to pay ransom for her release.”
“The first person we kidnapped was a man whose name I cannot remember. We kept him in a forest in Ilorin, Kwara State and got N5m as ransom.
“We got N15m in our second job and I got N2m as my share. I used it to buy my first car.”
In details, he narrated what took place during the time, Senator Anisulowo was being held by the gang. Daniel said his members initially did not carry him along in the job.
He said, “They told me that they were expecting to get nothing less than N50m. But after the family of the senator refused to pay the money and police were conducting raids all over the place, they decided to eliminate the woman.
“Police helicopter was hovering all over the place. My gang members then called me and said they wanted to kill the woman.
“I begged them for two days because they respect and listen to me. Luckily for the woman, she was released and they all ran away. The Fulani boys would have hacked her to death.”
Daniel also claimed that he had been able to stay ahead of the Security operative s as he had learned the pattern of the Department of State services and Polie while handling kidnapping. He also contracted a friend who was a hacker to gain access into DSS and Police websites.
“Through that, I was able to understand their methods. Before I was arrested, I already knew the police was looking for me. But I thought I would continue to escape them because I understood how they worked,” he said.
The suspect also confessed to being an armed robber in the past until he was arrested during an operation in Kaduna Road, Kwara State, in 2011.
