‘Arrest of brains behind kidnap of students, staff of NTIC led to release of victims’

Relief has come the way of parents and staff of Nigeria Turkish International School, Isheri, Ogun State, following the release of kidnapped students and teachers of the school by their abductors.

Reports say the victims, eight students and two staff of the school who were abducted on January 13, 2017, have all regained freedom and have all been taken to an undisclosed hospital to determine their state of health.

Confirming the release of the victims, Mr Cema Yigit, the school’s Public Relations Officer, revealed with a lot of excitement that the students have been released: “Yes they’ve been released but I can’t give you much details now. But a statement will be issued later.’’

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Also confirming the release, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer said the release of the victims who were in captivity for 11 days was made easy after the arrest of Philip Kakadu aka General Kakadu and Romeo Council aka Raw.

“After the arrest of the brains behind the kidnap, it was easier for us to rescue the victims. The arrests had turned the heat on them. The victims were rescued around 5pm. No ransom was paid. We are only trying to give them medical check-ups. They are all hale and hearty.

“This is the reason we always discourage payment of ransom. If a child is kidnapped and nobody pays any ransom, the hoodlums will discover that the business is no longer viable and they will stop kidnapping for ransom.” He added.

However, the Ogun State PPRO’s claim that no ransom was paid is being disputed in some quarters as available information reveals that some impatient parents of the victims parted with between N4 million and N10 million each to secure the release of the five students and three staff members of the school.

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