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KIDNAPPINGS IN OGUN: BAG USED TO DELIVER RANSOM FOUND IN SERIKI FULANI'S KITCHEN

•Suspect says ‘I knew my son was a kidnapper, but I thought he had stopped’

ABDULLAI Muhammadu, the 67-year-old Seriki Fulani and leader of the Fulani community in Ijebu Ode, who was arrested alongside his eldest child by the police in Ogun State for recent kidnappings around communities in the Ijebu area, has pleaded innocence, but one of the bags with which ransom was delivered was recovered in his kitchen.

He, however, admitted that he was aware that one of his sons, Bala Muhammadu, is into kidnapping, but that he felt that he had turned a new leaf.

He also insisted that he had no hand in his son’s criminal activities, though they both stay in the same compound.

The Fulani leader also admitted to having taken the wanted suspected kidnapper to the hospital for medical treatment for a month after being released from the correctional centre, where he served a five-year jail term for kidnapping.

The wanted Bala and his two other brothers were reportedly hinted of the presence of security operatives around their family compound and they allegedly quickly escaped through the bush.

It was gathered that operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Ogun State Police Command, led by the officer in charge, SP Bamidele Shirtu, while investigating the various incidents of kidnapping around Ijebu Ode, Imodi, Irewon, Iwode, Okun Owa and others, linked them all to Bala, who was just released from prison for the same kidnapping offence.

A police source said: “After painstaking and intelligence investigation, one of the bags which was used in the payment of the ransom for one of the victims was recovered in the father’s kitchen. One of the children who saw us coming into the community already hinted Bala and his other brothers and they had escaped through the bush.

“It is not only Bala who is into the business. There is also Ndaji and one other and we are on their trail. There was an upsurge in kidnapping in the area after Bala was released from prison. He spent five years in prison for kidnapping.”

Muhammadu Abdullai told newsmen that: “My name is Muhammadu Abdulai. I am a cattle rearer and also a farmer. I have been in Yorubaland for more than thirty years now. I have four wives and thirty children in Yorubaland. I was honoured with the title of Seriki of Fulani in Ijebu Ode by the immediate past Awujale of Ijebu Ode.

“I don’t know anything about the bag that was found in my house. I live in the same compound with my children and wives. I have never kidnapped anybody in my life.”

The Seriki Fulani however admitted that he was aware that one of his sons, Bala, was into kidnapping.

He said: “I know that Bala was into kidnapping. He was arrested and sent to prison. After he came back, I took him to the hospital, where he spent one month for treatment.

“I thought that he had turned a new leaf because he is now into farming and cattle rearing. I didn’t know that he is still into kidnapping. I don’t know if any of my other sons are into kidnapping. I am not into kidnapping and I will not encourage it.

“I didn’t want him to die when he came back from prison. He was looking very sick and pale. I wanted the best for him and other children. I took him to the hospital for treatment. I also encouraged him to stay away from crime.”

An elder brother to the wanted brothers, Bello, who was also arrested by the police, said: “I am Bello Muhammadu. I am the eldest child of my father. I was not at home when the policemen came. I was in the farm when my father called me. He could not understand what the policemen were saying.

“I am not into kidnapping. I am a herder. I only know that my younger brother, Bala, was arrested and taken to prison some years back. I don’t know anything about what he and any of my brothers are doing.

“If my father had known that Bala had returned to the crime, he would have killed him himself. He does not encourage anything like that.”

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, while speaking on the arrest of the suspects, noted that the police’s successful operation on kidnappers and other criminal elements in the state was as a result of the support from the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

Babaseyi said: “The Ogun State Police Command commends IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu for his continued support towards tactical policing, intelligence-led operations, and the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes.

“The command equally appreciates the strategic leadership and operational direction of the Commissioner of Police, CP Bode Ojajuni, which have continued to yield remarkable security successes within Ogun State.

“The successful operation carried out by the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, leading to the neutralisation/arrest of the notorious suspect and recovery of incriminating exhibits, underscores the bravery, professionalism and unwavering dedication of the operatives.

“Their resilience and intelligence-driven approach continue to frustrate criminal networks and reinforce public confidence in the Police.”

The command assured residents that sustained efforts are being intensified to dismantle all criminal syndicates operating within the state and its environs while urging members of the public to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information.

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AFRICAN UNION
By the African Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Conference (AYLEC) Team

Dear African Union Leaders,

We write with heavy hearts, as we celebrate this year African’s Day
Not as strangers,
But as youths of one continent,
Born from the same soil,
Carrying the same sun upon our skin,
Drinking from the rivers of one African dream.

How do we sing “One Africa”
When Africans are chased from African streets?
How do we preach unity
When borders have become weapons against brothers and sisters?
How do we build the Africa we want
When fear and hatred continue to divide the people we claim to protect?

Today, thousands of foreigners,
Our own African brothers and sisters,
Face eviction, rejection, humiliation,
In a land that once cried for continental solidarity during apartheid.
This pain echoes beyond South Africa,
It shakes the soul of Africa itself.

We understand the struggles,
The unemployment,
The economic hardship,
The frustration of the people.
But Africa must never become a continent
Where Africans become enemies to Africans.

We are one people.
One history.
One struggle.
One destiny.

From Lagos to Johannesburg,
From Nairobi to Accra,
From Kigali to Lusaka,
From Dakar to Cairo
From Windhoek to Douala
From Rabat to Luanda
Our future is connected.

The dream of a united Africa
Cannot survive on speeches alone.
It must be seen in our policies,
Heard in our leadership,
And felt in the safety of every African
No matter where they choose to live within this continent.

Our African Union Leaders,
This is the time for courageous leadership.
This is the time to rise beyond silence.
This is the time to protect the dignity of every African citizen.

We call for dialogue.
We call for peace.
We call for justice.
We call for an Africa where no child is told
“You do not belong here”
Simply because they crossed a colonial border created decades ago.

The youth of Africa are watching.
And we refuse to inherit a divided continent.

Let us build bridges, not walls.
Let us create opportunities, not hostility.
Let us remember:
If Africa must rise,
Then Africa must rise together.

Signed,

The AYLEC Team
African Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship Conference (AYLEC)