Suspected kidnapper arrested while withdrawing N1m ransom in Ondo

By Boye Oyeyemi –

Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a suspected kidnapper, Godspower Cletus, who was caught while attempting to withdraw a N1 million ransom allegedly collected from the husband of his victim.

Findings revealed that Cletus stormed the residence of Mrs Farimoyo Endurance in the Odudu area of Akure, where he was said to have robbed her at gunpoint and dispossessed her of her Android phone and ATM card.

During the incident, he allegedly coerced the victim to call her husband and demanded N5 million, threatening to harm her if the payment was not made.

A police source disclosed that the frightened husband immediately transferred N1 million into his wife’s Opay account to secure her safety.

“Once the suspect confirmed the alert, he fled the scene, believing he had completed the operation without obstruction,” the source added.

But operatives of the state anti-kidnapping squad reportedly deployed intelligence tracking to trace the suspect and eventually accosted him at a POS centre where he was trying to withdraw the funds.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ayanlade Olayinka, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspect had already admitted to the crime.

He revealed that investigations were under way to ascertain whether the suspect had links to other kidnap or robbery incidents across the state.