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Saturday, 29 July 2017

How kidnapped Lagos Model College Students were released after the death of 'America'

The six kidnapped students after their release on Friday
It's no longer news that six Senior Secondary School Students of Lagos Model College, Igbonla, Epe who were abducted on May 25, 2017 have been released.

Their release did not just happen as simple as it sounds. It was a-64 day episode that was characterized by pains, anguish, trauma, drama, suspense, surprises, hard work and even death.

The abducted boys, Police, parents of abductees, governments of Lagos, Delta and Ondo states and even the public had their share of the aforementioned factors that played out.

According to Vanguard, prior to the release of the students on Friday in Ondo State, the Police and other security agencies engaged in painstaking investigation and actions that lasted more than two months.

It was during this period that the alleged mastermind of the incident, who was simply identified as America was killed in a gun battle with the Police.

Read Also: We Killed 20 Kidnappers While Rescuing Kidnapped Lagos Model College Students – Police

The kidnap kingpin America was a lieutenant another kingpin, Ossy, who was killed by the Police in May this year at a hideout in Ajakpa, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Ossy and his gang, who were said to have killed an Army captain during one of their operations, had terrorized parts of Lagos, Ogun, and Ondo states before he was killed.

After the death of Ossy, America assumed leadership of the gang and continued with criminal activities, especially in Lagos and Ogun states.

Upon assuming the mantle of leadership, one of America’s primary objectives was to avenge the death of his boss. He was also concerned about the detention of his men, who were held by the Police for suspected high-profile crimes.

However, the abduction of the six Model College students was an opportunity for him to achieve these aims, as he was said to have demanded the release of his men while negotiating the students’ freedom.

While this demand was not met, he decided to steal a Police Gunboat at Police Marine, Aja in order to use it for an operation.

The Police got wind of the plot and swung into action leading to the killing of America and his gang members while they were coming to attack them.

Having killed the leader of the gang while the students were still not released, the Police decided to arrest the family members of America, who was said to have hailed from Ondo State.

Upon the death of America, another lieutenant known as Promise became the leader of the gang.

Like his boss, Promise was more interested in having his arrested gang members released than allowing the abductees to regain their freedom.

However, the Police continued their efforts by arresting his family members, thereby putting pressure on him to release the abductees.

It was also reported Ondo State government played some roles that resulted in the release of the students.

Investigation reveals that the kidnappers had insisted that the students would only be released to Ondo State government.

The Ondo State government took over the negotiation until the students were released yesterday. A ransom of N5million was reportedly paid before their release.

Sources: Punch, Vanguard and The Cable

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