FCT police arrest dismissed soldier for kidnapping

Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command have arrested one Gabriel Elihu, a dismissed soldier clad in military uniform, over an attempted kidnap in the FCT.

Elihu was arrested on March 17, after he attempted to kidnap two victims en route to Gishiri village from H-Medix in the Gwarimpa area of Abuja.

The suspect, a resident of Apo Mechanic Village in the FCT, along with other gang members, used an unregistered Toyota Hilux to trail the suspects.

They subsequently dispossessed them of their valuables and attempted to whisk them away to an unknown location when the victims raised the alarm.

The police, upon receipt of information about the incident, intercepted the suspects and arrested them.

While parading the suspects at the FCT Police Command in Abuja on Wednesday, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, said the operatives recovered a black-coloured Toyota Hilux with number plate NBB 03 AH (Nasarawa).

Other recovered items include a jackknife and some military accoutrements.

When interrogated by our correspondent, Elihu said his friend, a serving military personnel, introduced him to the act to extort money from unsuspecting individuals, particularly when dressed in military uniforms.

He said, “It was my friend that introduced me to it on March 17. I had even forgotten about this uniform because if you check the uniform, you will see that this is not the recent one. This is the one they gave everyone during the election eight years back.

“So, my friend said that when he was in Port Harcourt and he didn’t have money, they knew how to block Yahoo boys and check their phone profile to get them to settle them.

“He told us that if they settle (speaking about the March 17 incident), he will give us something to ‘hold body’, that is how the thing happened.”

The dismissed soldier disclosed that it was the first time he participated in such an act and regretted his decision.