From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Command of the Department of State Services (DSS), yesterday, paraded a nursing mother and six others who specialised in kidnapping toddlers in the state.
The state Director of DSS, Mr Jonathan Kure, who paraded the suspects at the DSS headquarters in Akure, said the syndicate had been terrorising the state by kidnapping toddlers between the ages of two and four years.
Kure said following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and the support of the Director-General of the DSS, with the support of Ondo State government, his command launched arrested the suspects who are all young men and a nursing mother.
He noted that the nursing mother was a member of the kidnap syndicate who also helped keep weapons for the syndicate and wife to one of the suspected kidnappers.
The director confirmed that from an intelligence report, the suspects were the only syndicate that specialised in kidnapping of toddlers in the state.
Kure said the command will continue with its investigations, adding that the suspects would soon be charged to court.
The director noted that the operation was carried out in synergy with the men of the Nigerian Army and appreciated the collaboration amongst the security agencies in the state. He said: “They have tormented so many families, especially within Akure, following the directive of President Buhari and support of our DG, we were able to launch a crackdown.”
Some of the items recovered from the suspects include laptops, cash and locally made guns.
The Acting Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who spoke at the DSS office, assured indigenes and residents of the state of adequate security of their life and property.
Aiyedatiwa urged landlords to always do proper profiling of their tenants and know the kind of work they do.
“Security is everybody’s business; if you notice anyone that is living above his means, let security check the person out,” he said.