BY FEMI OYEWESO, Abeokuta
Men of the Ogun State police command on Friday, paraded four members of a family of Seven, who constituted themselves into a kidnapping syndicate in Sagamu area of the state.
While four of the suspect, which included their father, Oweniwe Okpara and three of his children namely; Samson Okpara, Bright Okpara and Eze Okpara were paraded in Sagamu, the three other children; Godwin Okpara, Godspower Okpara and Mathew Okpara were already cooling their feels at the police custody in Delta State.
Two other suspects, Christian Ishaha and Emmanuel Joseph who provided accommodation for the suspects in Sagamu township from where the suspects usually perfected their operations’ plans were also paraded alongside the Edo state-born Okpara kidnapping syndicate.
Parading the suspect yesterday in Sagamu, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi said the father, Okpara was said to have been a farmer on a farmland at the Aiyepe-Ijebu road which was being used as the kidnapping ground where the trio of Godwin, Godspower and Mathew, who were the armed squad of the syndicate usually dumped their victims.
“They were all arrested in the Ajaka area of Sagamu for their roles in the kidnap of 8 persons at different times in Sagamu and other areas”.
“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the trio of Godwin, Godspower and Mathew were the armed squad of the syndicate, while Samson, Bright and Eze Okpara were the ones spying on their targeted victims”.
“Their camp, located within a forest in Ayepe-ijebu where their father used to farm before converting it to a detention camp was uncovered by policemen led by the DPO Sagamu. Items recovered at the camp include; three expended cartridges, cooking gas, tarpaulin, cooking utensils, women bags and twine”.
Oyeyemi however, appreciated the cooperation of the Sagamu security operatives under the Palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi for supporting the police in the efforts at arresting the kidnapping syndicate.
