Photo credit: Olaleye Aluko |
Another kidnapper’s den has been discovered in a suburb in
Lagos State. Punch Reports:
Residents of Ire Akari Crescent, Pipeline, Ajuwon Akute,
Ogun State, were confused on Friday when operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery
Squad, Lagos State Police Command, stormed the area and marked a fenced
bungalow in the community as a kidnappers’ den.
On the structure was boldly written in red, ‘Armed robbers/
Kidnappers/ murderers’ den. Please keep off, SARS, Ikeja’. The inscription on
the gates added to the puzzle of residents, but they later got to know that the
remains of a missing woman and her daughter were exhumed from the structure by
men of Lagos State SARS.
It was further learnt that the ex-customs officer, Angela
Kery, and the young girl, simply identified as Obiagulum, had been declared
missing from home since May 10.
It was learnt that after a series of investigations which
led to the arrest of Azeez, the suspect confessed to have killed the missing
woman and her daughter and buried them in the structure.
When our correspondent visited the area on Saturday,
residents were seen at the building.
The structure is a white bungalow, while its gates are
painted in grey. It also has a barb-wired fence around it. Our correspondent
also observed a heavy presence of policemen. Three patrol vans which belonged
to the Ajuwon, and Ojodu Abiodun police divisions, were parked on the street.
A policeman explained that many of them were deployed in the
building to ensure that angry youths did not raze it or loot the structure.
Many residents in the area said they had never met the owner
of the structure, adding that the gates of the compound were always locked.
A landlord in the area, who craved anonymity, said, “We
never knew who the owner of the house was. It was usually locked and I have yet
to observe any form of human presence. Now it is shocking to realise that it is
a kidnappers’ den. That means all of us are not safe.
“We learnt that the victims had been buried in the sitting
room. They said ritual killers had killed a woman and her daughter and buried
them.”
Another resident, who identified herself simply as Mrs.
Adedotun, claimed that the suspect owned a hospital and a petrol station in
other areas of Lagos and Ogun states.
“I heard he is also called Doctor because he runs a
hospital. Some people call him Alhaji. He scarcely comes to stay in the house.
We never knew it was because he had buried two human beings in his compound,”
she noted.
Till about 2pm when our correspondent left the area, crowds
continued to troop into the area as motorcyclists had a very busy day conveying
the anxious people.
The Lagos State Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said she
would call our correspondent back, which she had yet to do as of the time of
going to press.
But the acting Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State
Police Command, Abimbola Opeyemi, confirmed the incident.
He said, “Actually, it is not our case. The case belongs to
the SARS of the Lagos State Police command. But we brought our men from Ajuwon
to ensure that people in the area do not burn the structure. They are still
patrolling the area as I speak to you.”
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