(Police Emblem. Photo by Nation News)
The Delta State Police Command has arrested a commercial motorcyclist, Kelvin Ogaga, over the alleged kidn@pping of a three-year-old girl who had been placed in his care.
It was gathered that the suspect collected N500,000 as ransom from the child’s family before releasing the toddler.
The Delta Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, announced the arrest in a video released on Thursday.
Edafe explained that the suspect had been engaged by the child’s parents to take her to and from school for a monthly fee of N10,000, and had carried out the arrangement for about three weeks before instead abducting the girl rather than taking her to school.
To avoid being traced, the suspect switched off his personal phone and used a different number to reach out to the family, initially demanding N2 million as ransom.
Although he threatened to k!ll the child if the police were alerted, the family went ahead to report the matter to the authorities.
The ransom demand was eventually lowered to N500,000, which the family paid before the child was released unharmed.
Acting on intelligence, police tracked down and arrested the suspect, recovering part of the ransom money in the process.
During questioning, Ogaga admitted to the crime, saying he was talked into it by a friend known as ‘Omo’ because of financial difficulties.
He also claimed his girlfriend was aware of the plan.
Edafe said efforts were underway to apprehend other suspects linked to the case.
The police spokesperson advised parents and guardians to properly screen the backgrounds of anyone entrusted with caring for or transporting their children.
He added that the reassuring part is that the child is safe, the suspect is in custody, and part of the ransom has been recovered.
