Barely 24 hours after the release of three pupils and five officials of the Nigerian Tulip International College (NTIC), Ogun state, one of the suspected kidnappers has been arrested.
Disclosing this on Wednesday was the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone II, Kayode Aderanti.
He told journalists about the efforts made by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who deployed personnel and modern gadgets to secure the release of the kidnapped students and officials.
Aderanti however denied knowledge of the payment of any ransom to secure the release of the victims.
He spoke further, “The victims were taken to a hospital in Ikeja. All the victims are in good health and the school management on Wednesday took them to meet with the Ogun State Governor.
“I am not aware if any ransom was paid. Police was not involved in ransom. It is complete falsehood to say the police didn’t do anything to rescue the victims.
“It is wrong for anyone to say the police took glory for what it didn’t do. I think the problem the Nigeria Police faces is that of lack of trust and poor perception.
“Myself and my team haven’t slept in days because of this issue. We were working day and night and so many relatives of the kidnappers were held. We mounted so much pressure on them. The IGP deployed so many Special Forces and gadgets to ensure the rescue of these victims.
“The kidnappers knew that their cover had been blown. Already, we have arrested one of the kidnappers who fled the creek. More revelations would be made soon.
“On our side, we are putting in place strategies to contain such issues. I have had meetings with strategic commanders for about two hours today (Wednesday).
“We have invigorated marine patrol with more boats on the waterways to intercept criminals. There are so many things the police would unfold.
“Even the schools have their blames but I can assure you it would no longer be business as usual. These schools must ensure that security measures are put in place.”
