Edo Commissioner of Police Funsho Adegboye has raised the alarm over the increasing involvement of residents in cases of kidnapping in the state.

Mr Adegboye, while briefing reporters on the command’s activities on Tuesday in Benin, noted that kidnapping by herders has somewhat reduced, but more locals were now being arrested for kidnapping.

The CP said that the police gathered from victims rescued that most kidnappers were not herdsmen.

“From our recent experiences, from the victims we have liberated and debriefed, we have discovered that most of the kidnappers now are not those we usually call herdsmen.

” The locals are getting seriously involved in kidnapping; before, if you ask the victims of kidnapping, they will say ‘herdsmen’. The involvement of the so-called herders is now very minimal,” he said.

Mr Adegboye recounted that recently, an arrested suspect in Edo North was vouched for by his group leader, but soon, the police discovered he had kidnapped a woman.

“But, fortunately, the investigation confirmed 100 per cent that he kidnapped a woman and collected money. The people were ashamed for vouching for him.

“Also, recently, this one happened around town here; a 23-year-old man kidnapped a five-year-old girl, kept her in his room for several days, and collected N250,000 ransom from the parents while the poor girl was in his room.

“We deployed all our technical arsenal, and we got him arrested. He confessed to the heinous crime, and he has been charged to court. It was a pathetic situation,” he said.

The CP, however, called on members of the public to be more vigilant, adding that with the security situation in the country, everybody was a suspect.

(NAN)