Nigerian Who Kidnapped Three Australians Arrested

Samuel Asuquo, an alleged ringleader of a syndicate
responsible for the abduction of three Australians, has
reportedly been arrested, the State Security Service said
Sunday, September 4.
Premium Times reported that Mr. Asuquo was arrested in
Nasarawa Bakoko Village in southern Nigerian state of
Cross River on August 22, the SSS said in a statement
signed by its spokesman, Tony Opuiyo.
The three Australians were abducted on June 22 from a
worksite while working for Lafarge Cement Company near
Calabar, the state capital. The police said their driver was
fatally shot.
The expatriates, said to be miners, regained freedom on
June 26 after their employer paid a ransom of N150 million,
the SSS said.
Similarly, three members of a kidnap gang said to have
terrorised travellers along Abuja-Kaduna Highway for a long
time were arrested by operatives on August 30th in Lafia,
Nasarawa State.
The suspects included Bamaiyi Mustapha, Aminu Isa and
Hasan Shehu and they were said to have recently kidnapped
five women and collected about 13 million as ransom.
Mr. Opuiyo said the three were apprehended while plotting a
“high-profile kidnap in Abuja.”
During a joint-operation with the Nigerian Army in Kano
State, the SSS said two suspected Boko Haram elements
were arrested for terrorism.
Ibrahim Abubakar and Idris Audu, whom SSS said are
experts in manufacturing improvised explosive devices,
were arrested while planning to gain admission into the
Nigerian Army as a recruit.
The SSS further stated that two suspected impersonators,
Taiye Alade and Ajoke Kolawole, were arrested in Ado-Ekiti,
the Ekiti State capital, on August 28 at a hotel in the city
after cloning the phone number of the Group Managing
Director of the NNPC to perpetrate criminal acts.
The SSS did not clarify if the cloned number belonged to the
new GMD of NNPC that was appointed by President Buhari
in June or his predecessor, Ibe Kachikwu.
Mr. Opuiyo, therefore, “assured all law abiding citizens and
residents that the SSS will not rest on its oars in its
determination to ensure a safe environment for all to carry
out their legitimate business” while calling on “members of
the public to support this effort by providing useful
information to security agencies.”

Join bliszblog on BBM channel : C003452E0