The Ondo State Command of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a 21-year-old undergraduate, Anthony Oscar, for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl.
NSCDC State Commandant, Oluyemi Ibiloye disclosed this in Akure on Tuesday while parading the suspect and two others.
Ibiloye said Oscar, who is a 400-level Mass Communication student at the University of Calabar, collected N50,000 as ransom from the parents of the victim.
The commandant said the command’s tactical team arrested the suspect on February 17 at his residence at No. 31 Jordan St., Ikot Ishie, Calabar, Cross River State.
He said Oscar was a specialist in abducting teenagers for ransom.
“On Jan. 30, 2024, a complaint of their missing 17-year-old daughter, Araba Joy Temitope, was reported at the NSCDC headquarters by Mr and Mrs Araba Alaba of number 24, Double Taiwo St., Ijoka, in Akure.
“Temitope (victim) has been reported missing since January 24, 2024, while returning home from her school, Elibest College of Education, Oba-Ile, in Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
“On Jan. 30, the command issued a ‘Missing Person Statement’ to the press for whoever knows her whereabouts to contact the parents or the command at the contact numbers.
“On Feb. 6, seven days after the command’s press release, a phone number, which was later identified to be that of Oscar, notified the parents of the missing girl that their daughter was in his camp for rehabilitation.
“And he (suspect) demanded for N50,000 to be sent to Monie Point Microfinance bank account No. 8162041939 and that their daughter would be released,” he said.
He said the command instructed the victim’s parents to pay the ransom as part of the command’s sting operation to nab the suspect.
According to him, Oscar was nabbed after his phone was tracked.
He said that the suspect has confessed to the crime and the collection of the N50,000 ransom but has not revealed the victim’s whereabouts.
The commandant said its investigation showed that the suspect has various photographs of missing persons.
“He also has their family contacts on his phone, suggesting that he is into kidnapping for ransom, fraud, and cybercrime.
“Investigation is still ongoing to unravel the location of the missing girl and to arrest his accomplices,” he said.