Rescue of School Girls: We have the capacity to fight crime- Ambode
…Salutes Efforts of Security Agencies
…Girls Were Not Molested; No Ransom Paid- CP
…How We Planned the Operation- Key Suspect
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday said his
administration has the will and capacity to fight all forms of crime and
criminality in the state, just as he read the riot act to persons who
have taken to kidnapping, warning that there would be no hiding place
for such act.
The governor, who addressed journalists on the safe
rescue of the three girls abducted by gunmen from the Babington
Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu last Monday, warned that the
state government will spare nothing to clamp down on all forms of crime
in the state.
“Let me warn that the State Government will not
tolerate kidnapping or any forms of crime in the State. Our position is
clear and unambiguous, Lagos state has the capacity and the will to go
after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives
and property in the state.
He expressed relief and excitement at
the rescue of the girls by security operates in the early hours of
Sunday, just as he commended the efforts of security operatives who led
the rescue efforts.
“The Lagos State police Command, the
Department of State Security and members of the Armed forces worked
tirelessly round the clock in the last six days to secure the release of
the children. I thank them for a good job.
“The three girls have
been safely re-united with their families and the Government wishes to
assure Lagosians that their security is top priority and it will not
relent in ensuring that Lagos remains safe and secure,” he said.
Governor Ambode said one of the suspected kidnappers – one Emmanuel
Arigidi, was arrested during the operation by security operatives to
release the abducted children.
“As our daughters are re-united
with their mothers and other members of their families, I would like to
seize this opportunity to wish all mothers in Lagos State and Nigeria at
large a happy Mothers' Day,” he said.
Also, the State
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni said three suspects were
arrested in the operation that led to the rescue of the girls, adding
that one of the suspects (Emmanuel) was actively involved, while two
others – Seun Akanji and one Henry were conspirators who aided the
kidnapping one way or the other.
Owoseni disclosed that the girls
were rescued around Imota in Ikorodu, but declined to disclose further
details in order not to jeopardize ongoing investigation.
He
said: “With respect to the state of the girls, they are very well and
they are stable. I can confirm that immediate medical attention just to
test them up has been given to them by the police medical team and I can
as well tell you that as we picked them up, one of the questions we
asked the girls was whether they were molested in any way and the three
of them stated unequivocally that they were not molested in any way.”
When asked if ransom was paid, Owoseni said nothing of such happened as
police deployed intelligence-led policing using the platform of
technology and partnering with members of the community to put pressures
on the kidnappers to secure the release of the girls.
He added:
“When you talk about ransom in cases like this, you are glorifying
kidnapping. We should not be talking about ransom anymore in this
country because if you do, you are telling others that kidnapping is
viable and you can be going and kidnapping people to collect money.
“But I want to also say that what was employed in rescuing the girls is
more of application of intelligence-led policing using the platform of
technology, partnering with members of the community and pressures on
the kidnappers because what we have done with other security agencies is
that we also went for members of their families including their
mothers, their fathers, their children and with that pressure they found
out that there was no way again for them to keep on keeping the girls
and that was what led to the success we recorded in rescuing the girls,”
the CP explained.
He assured residents that Lagos remains safe
and secured saying that the state government and security agencies have
the capacity to pursue any criminal who dare at all to come and disturb
the peace or to commit crime in the state.
When interviewed by
journalists, the prime suspect, Emmanuel Arigidi said twelve people were
involved in the operation and that the operation was planned at Majidun
area of Ikorodu.
He said: “We went to Maya bridge to enter Canoe
and went to the school around 8pm. After we gained entrance into the
school, we took away three girls and we took them to our hideout. But
along the line, we had disagreement between ourselves and I was actually
the one that started it. I told other members of the gang that what we
have done is not good and that I don’t like it.
“I know that
security in Lagos State is now tight and I was telling others that there
was no way we would get away with this kind of job considering the
level of security in the state. When I told them that we should end the
assignment, other members of the gang threatened to kill me and then I
took Canoe to run away.
“Three days after I ran away, operatives
of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) then arrested me somewhere in
Majidun and that was how I told them how we planned the attack. One
thing I will like to say is that if not for the fact that I was
arrested, they would not have seen the girls because I was the one that
revealed everything to the police,” he narrated.
