TO Abolaji Azeez Aleshe, popularly called BJ, kidnapping while fully armed is an easy way to make money. It is a thriving business as far as he is concerned. Though he started about three years ago until he got arrested, charged to court, and remanded in prison, regaining his freedom after he was granted bail early this year strengthened him, with the resolve to continue in his ?business?.

But as he is known to say after his arrest, the ?expiry date? for his crime clocked when he was re-arrested alongside his gang members by the CSP Daramola Ojo-led Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Ogun State Police Command after many cases of kidnappings in the Gateway state.

Other suspected gang members were identified as Oduyemi Abiola, 41; Henry Emmanuel Gaga, 34; Jimoh Abdulkareem, 39; Abbey Emmanuel, 34; Onokrese Jacob, 34; Joseph Udoma,42 and Rasheed Salami.

Briefing journalists on the arrest of Aleshe and seven other gang members, the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, said that before they were apprehended, the command got reports of kidnappings of seven persons between May and September this year, which prompted discreet investigations by the officer in charge of the anti-kidnapping unit, CSP Ojo. This led to the establishment of a lead that culminated in the arrest of one of the gang members, Abiola.

Some of the operations carried out by the Aleshe-led gang included the kidnapping of a woman, Busari Abiola, who was followed to the gate of her house in Sagamu in an unregistered vehicle on May 16 where she was abducted. The following day, May 17, the gang struck again, blocked one Adebayo Olabisi in the Irewon area of Ijebu Ode and took her away in her white Toyota Highlander SUV to an unknown place.

A few weeks later, on June 2, the Aleshe gang abducted one Omosehin Tanwa in Ijebu Imushin, and carried out another operation on July 14, kidnapping one Segun Adebanjo, along with his red Toyota Camry car.

The commissioner of police disclosed that the Aleshe gang?s final attack before being nabbed occurred on September 5 when the members gained access into the compound of a nurse working with Babcock University, one Uruakpa Elizabeth, and abducted her at gunpoint taking with them her Toyota Camry car.

Sunday Tribune learnt that after Abiola?s arrest, he confessed that he was involved in a series of kidnapping cases recorded in the state and provided valuable information that led to the arrest of Aleshe and others.

CP Alamutu disclosed that Aleshe confessed to having a charm which he called Abere (that aided them in seeking the way). The police commissioner said that the gang leader had orchestrated many abductions, and collected huge ransoms from his victims before releasing them.

Sunday Tribune further gathered that Aleshe had earlier been arrested in January 2016 for kidnapping an expatriate on Sagamu-Ogijo road. The suspect was also apprehended by Oyo State Police Command?s Monitoring Unit, led by its Commander, CSP Olusola Aremu, on August 28, 2022, after he kidnapped one Atitebi Ganiyat. Before that, he had abducted one Rosemary Okafor in July and collected N15 million as ransom before setting her free.

Sunday Tribune also recalled that in his confessional statement then, Aleshe mentioned one of the suspects now arrested in Ogun, Jacob, as one of his gang members. Another suspect, Salami, was also arrested in Oyo State in 2021 for belonging to a car-snatching syndicate. His role was to take the vehicles from Nigeria to Burkina Faso for sale. Salami?s story was published in Saturday Tribune on June 12, 2021. Among the items recovered from him then were two pump-action guns, three live cartridges N2.5 million and about eight vehicles.

Aleshe is allegedly still standing trial for the kidnap of the expatriate in Ogun State. He is also said to be standing trial for another kidnap case at an Oyo State court where he was granted bail on April 26 this year and subsequently released.

The court cases, however, did not stop him from forming a new gang, as he resumed his kidnapping operations less than a month after his release from prison with the May 16 abduction until his eventual arrest.

The police boss told journalists that one of the suspects, Udoma, was supplying information to the gang, and was involved in the kidnap of a journalist in Ijebu Ode in 2023.

Sunday Tribune further learnt that Aleshe?s gang also kidnapped the Olorun, the wife of Epe traditional ruler.

Another suspect, Gaga, reportedly owned the Browning pistol used by the gang for kidnapping and robbery, while Salami from Saki in Oyo, and Jimoh from Kwara, helped the gang in procuring locally-made pistols and ammunition, as well as the sale of vehicles stolen from kidnap victims in neighbouring Niger Republic.

On his part, Abbey was responsible for bringing food to victims while in captivity.

Recovered from the gang were a Browning pistol, a Honda Element SUV with registration number AYT 88 MS, a Toyota Camry car with registration number KTU 406 JL and charms, among other items.

CP Alamutu disclosed that the investigation into the gang?s operations had been concluded and the suspects would soon be charged to court for trial.

Sunday Tribune interviewed the suspects and the following is their confessional narration:

Abolaji Aleshe a.k.a BJ

?I?m from Ago Iwoye in Ogun State but based in Ibadan. I have been involved in six kidnappings since my release from prison in April. I was using the ?abere charm? for consultation to know if it was safe to go for kidnapping. It belonged to my father before his death. He was an herbalist. To make it very effective and potent, I used to kill fowl as a sacrifice, using its blood. I didn?t use human blood. I was not with it when I was arrested because it was not during the operation. The longest time we kept our victims was a week, except for the wife of an oba. We never had one that could not pay the ransom.

Why I returned to kidnapping after getting bail

?All my property and money were confiscated by the police. My building was also marked as not accessible. My children stopped schooling because there was no money. The lawyer handling my case also collected N10.7 million to get a bail for me. I have been so unfortunate because I have not been able to gather any tangible amount of money from the risks I was taking. The lawyers I got before him were just fleecing me.

?One of the guns we used for our operations belonged to Gaga. He brought it to the gang and we used it for three operations.

?We kidnapped a woman at Oja Aje in Ijebu Ode and sold her white Toyota Highlander 2010 model to Salami. I knew Salami through a fellow inmate who gave me his phone number when I was still in remand. He was to pay N5 million for the Highlander but only gave me N2.3 million.

?We also kidnapped the wife of the Epe monarch. My friend and gang member, Abiola, was the one who told me that he had a job for me in Epe. That was how went to kidnap the queen. She was on her way home from church on a Sunday when we blocked her vehicle. ?We abducted her and took her into a bush at Ososa Ijebu. We asked the family for N50 million as ransom, but the family negotiated and promised to pay N28 million. They initially paid N20 million, so we left Ososa with the queen to Abiola?s house in Ibadan. We collected the remaining N8 million before we finally set her free after 14 days.

?It is true that one of us, Udoma, gave me a kidnapping assignment. I carried it out and got N7 million. I gave him N700,000. One of us, Ifeanyi, is still at large. It was because I didn?t have any money to fall back on that I returned to crime.

How I was arrested

?I will say the operatives who got me really tried. Till this moment, I still think of how they were able to get me. I was in my mother?s house in Ijebu Ode. We were preparing for 12 years remembrance ceremony of my late father on September 28. I came home on September 27 from Ibadan where I was staying. The following day, I became very ill with diabetes.

?My new wife called to tell me that one of us had been arrested. I was wondering why that would happen. Later in the evening, someone called that the gang member fought with another person, but I decided to be vigilant, watching the house gate anytime it was opened.

?On a particular morning, I heard my mother saying: ?Why are you here? Yahoo guys don?t live here.? I pulled the curtains of my room aside and saw policemen. Though very weak, I summoned strength and quickly got up to find a place to hide in the ceiling.

?Till today, I?m still surprised at the speed with which the police officer I saw at our gate ran to get inside the house, climbed the stairs to the top floor of our house, entered my room and pulled my leg as I climbed a wardrobe and was about to sneak inside the ceiling. I still shook off his hands and went in, but one of them got in and brought me out.

?I didn?t recruit members during my stay in prison; I only knew Abiola. He was living in the same area as me in Ibadan. I spoke with him after my return from prison. He was the one who got two of the gang members, including Gaga.

?Three of us used to go for operation. The injured suspect, Udoma, gave me a kidnapping assignment. Gaga used to stay with the victims to watch over them.

?Everything has an expiry date. I advise others to desist from committing crimes,? he narrated.

Oduwole Abiola

?I?m a herbalist. I joined Aleshe this year after his return from prison when he convinced me to be part of his gang. We grew up together in Ijebu Ode. We carried out six operations together. We usually drove around, looking for a woman moving in a quiet place. We would abduct her to Ososa and keep her until ransom would be paid. We snatched one of our operational vehicles from a Yahoo guy in a club in Sagamu.

How I was arrested

?I believe that it was time for me to get a reward for all my offenses. I advise people who may want to get involved in crime to desist from it; there is no gain in it. We did not use the money we got for any fruitful thing,? he said.

Joseph Udoma

?I knew Aleshe through my friend, Dayo. I told Aleshe to help kidnap a woman who lives in the same neighbourhood as me at Itamogere in Ijebu. I told him the woman had money. She was a ?chin chin? and doughnut seller.

?The day she was kidnapped, I informed the gang of her movement and the dress she wore. She was blocked and whisked away. Days after, I was called that the ransom had been paid and I should come to collect my share; I got N700,000, though Aleshe was given N7 million.

?My friend, Dayo, and I kidnapped a journalist and went to Lagos to sell the car stolen from him, unknown to us that it had a tracking device. Though police trailed, got us, and fired shots when we were about to speed off after sighting them, I escaped with a gunshot injury in my right arm. I was later arrested in relation to Aleshe?s kidnap operations.

?I regret my actions; I was warned not to move with bad people but did not hearken to the voice of reason and it has landed me where I am today,? he said.

Jacob a.k.a JK

?I knew Aleshe and Abiola through Gaga. I was asked to join the kidnap gang but I didn?t. I just started with them this year. My role was to watch over victims with two others in the bush; we would be armed with guns. The two others are Gaga and Eagle who is still at large. We were using two guns usually held by Aleshe and Abiola. I joined the gang to carry out six operations involving five female victims and a male. I got between N600,000 and N1.3 million as my share of the ransom taken by the gang leader.

?I regret joining the kidnap gang; I would have loved to concentrate on my cassava farm,? he said.

Gaga

?I knew Aleshe through Jacob. After Aleshe?s return from prison, Abiola called to inform me of a kidnapping assignment. I was one of those in charge of victims while they would be in captivity. I was paid between N400,000 and N1.4 million for a job done,? he said.

Rasheed Salami

?I knew BJ (Aleshe) through one Busayo. He told me that BJ needed two locally-made guns. I got them from someone in Niger Republic. I returned to crime through devil?s work. I also bought one stolen Toyota Highlander SUV from BJ. I took the vehicle to the Niger Republic to sell it,? he said.

Jimoh Abdulkareem

?I?m from Kosukosu in Kwara State. I?m 39 years old. I?m a farmer but was arrested because my boss, Salami, who is a trailer driver, bought a snatched vehicle from BJ. When there was no work to do, I used to smuggle petrol from Lagos to the Chikanda border at Ilesabaruba. I followed my boss to buy the stolen vehicle,? Abdulkareem said. (Sunday Tribune)

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