Ismaila Dauda
Ismaila
Dauda, a 27-year-old secondary school dropout, has been arrested by the
Ogun State Police Command for an alleged abduction.
Dauda,
a fledgling actor, based in Ondo, was accused of attempting to abduct
the wife of the traditional ruler of Ilisan Remo in March 2013, with the
help of three others- Segun, Nurudeen and an unidentified man.
However, Dauda said he was not aware that he was part of a gang of kidnappers until too late.
He
said, “At the time, I was not aware that it was a planned abduction.
Segun is a close friend and had borrowed my car. Because the car was
without a spare tyre and not in good condition, I offered to drive him
wherever he wanted.
“I was under the impression that Segun was in
search of a suitable school for his teaching practice as he is a student
of a College of Education,” Dauda said.
Dauda, Segun and Nurudeen
allegedly left Ondo, while a fourth unidentified man was picked up at
Ore. Under Segun’s direction, Dauda allegedly drove to a secondary
school close to the palace of the Oba of Ilisan in Ogun State.
At
about 1pm, an elderly lady was said to have driven out of the school
compound and headed in the direction of the king’s palace.
Dada
said, “At the time, I was unaware that she was the king’s wife. By the
time she came to where we were parked, she stopped because my car was
blocking her path. To my shock, Segun and Nurudeen rushed to her
vehicle, brandishing guns and pulled her out. Till that moment, I had
had no idea that they had guns in their possession.”
Their victim
was bundled into Dauda’s waiting car and driven away. Some residents,
however, raised the alarm and alerted the police after witnessing the
abduction.
“It seemed Segun had stationed some spies around
because while I was driving, he received a call that the police had
already begun to give a chase behind us and that the neighbourhod
vigilantes had mobilised ahead of us to block our escape.
“Immediately,
I heard that, I could no longer drive. I was so scared, I had to drive
off the road into the bush and we abandoned my car there with the king’s
wife in it,” Dauda recalled.
Dauda and his friends, allegedly hid
in the bush till 7pm until Segun’s spies showed up and took them all to
an uncompleted building at the Ijebu-Ode end of Sagamu-Benin
Expressway. The suspects were said to have hidden there till 6.30am the
following day, when a vehicle arrived to convey them back to Ondo state.
The
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi,
confirming the incident said, “The victim was rescued from the car
unhurt although some pepper had been sprayed into her eyes to prevent
her from identifying where she was to be held captive.
“All the suspects escaped from the scene. In their haste, a sim card belonging to Dauda was left in the car.
“Dauda
was tracked to his home in Ondo State but he had gone into hiding in
his hometown, Iwo. It wasn’t until May 19 that Dauda returned home and
he was promptly arrested by the Fagun Police Division and later
transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department, Abeokuta.
Investigation is on to apprehend the other fleeing suspects.” [Punch]
