Kogi Uncovers Criminal Network, Vows to Track Down Collaborators

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

The Kogi State Government has disclosed that it has uncovered a criminal network involving local collaborators aiding kidnapping gangs in parts of the state, particularly in Kabba/Bunu,Ijumu,Yagba East and Yagba West Local Government Areas.

Just as it was also revealed that some bread sellers and sachet water factories were supplying basic necessities to kidnappers in their forest hideouts. Motorcycle riders acted as couriers, transporting goods to the criminals, allowing them to sustain operations undetected.

The state government, however, has vowed to crackdown on the collaborators in state.

This was contained in a in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley  Fanwo, and made available to journalists in Lokoja yesterday.

The statement stressed that the discovery followed a coordinated crackdown by joint security forces in response to recent security breaches, including the abduction and death of a retired Nigerian Army officer from Odo-Ape, the kidnap of a prominent farmer from Ponyan in Yagba East, and a series of related incidents in Yagba West.

Fanwo said the operations, which were initiated under the directive of Governor  Usman Ododo, have led to significant arrests and exposure of those fueling.

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