The Oyo State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has said the information provided by the police is not true and none of its officers was arrested for kidnapping.
The command’s spokesman, Oluwole Olusegun, in a statement on Thursday, said that a kidnap suspect identified as Kayode Adeyemi, was not an inspector of the corps as reported.
In the statement, the police said they arrested Mr. Adeyemi along with an alleged dismissed soldier, identified as Ayodele Ibitayo, and one Ikechukwu Daniel for kidnapping.
The suspects were arrested by the operatives of the Special Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector-General of Police in Oyo and Ogun states.
Mr. Adeyemi reportedly told the police that he was an NSCDC inspector, serving in Ibadan and that he supplied the gang with the victims’ contacts.
However, the civil defence has disowned Mr. Adeyemi, saying he was neither in the nominal nor pay roll of the Oyo State Command of the corps.
“The Management of the NSCDC, Oyo State Command, wishes to react to the purported parade of one 29-year-old Kayode Adeyemi, male, claiming to be a personnel of the corps, serving with the command.
“The suspect, who also claims to be an aide to the State Commandant, was reportedly arrested by the police on June 23 and paraded on Nov. 15, along with two other suspects for planning to kidnap a business mogul, Femi Otedola.
“The command states categorically that Adeyemi was not a personnel of the corps, neither was he at any time a Personal Assistant to the State Commandant,” Mr. Olusegun said.
He said that the state police command never contacted the NSCDC to verify Mr. Adeyemi’s claims before going public.
The statement urged security agencies to always verify their facts before going to the media on criminal matters, so as not to tarnish the image of the innocent ones.
