Ex-DSS Staff, Others Nabbed Over Kidnap of Gateway Insurance Boss

A dismissed officer of the Department of State Services, DSS, 35-year-old Abdulrasheed Maigari, with his gang members that included a B.Sc. holder from South-Eastern university, Kelvin Emeka, have been arrested by Police Intelligence Response Team, led by ACP Abba Kyari, following the abduction of Alhaji Isa Salami, Chairman of Gateway Insurance and former Chairman, Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria, PAN.

Maigari confessed to be one of the gang members that robbed a bureau de change operator of N310 million allegedly belonging to a Senator and meant for conversion to dollars, last year.

The kidnappers were reportedly arrested at a hideout in Suleija with police sources disclosing that the two flats, where arms and kidnap victims are kept, were rented by the former DSS officer.

Police said: “Abdulrasheed Maigari, a 2006 graduate of Political Science from a Northern state university, was recruited into DSS as a graduate officer in September 2011.

Members of the ex-DSS personnel’s kidnap gang paraded in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

“He was dismissed and charged to court in November 2015 for robbing N310 million with some dismissed army personnel in Abuja. He became the coordinator of the gang.”

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh Moshood, said: “Sequel to the IGP’s directive on the kidnap of Alhaji Salami, operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response Team, with Anti-Kidnap Squad of FCT Police Command, swung into action.

“After five days of surveillance, they arrested 11 members of the gang.”

Previous operations

Vanguard gathered that the gang was responsible for the kidnap of two ladies, who were abducted in Wuse, detained in Mpape, with N3 million ransom collected and their car, an SUV, taken to Sokoto for sale.

The gang members also confessed to have been behind the abduction of a lady in Abuja (names withheld), for which they collected N1 million ransom as well as the abduction of a couple in Gwagwalada, which yielded N7 million as ransom.

Those arrested and paraded are Kelvin Emeka, the B. Sc. holder; Ndubuisi Ozor, Abdulrasheed Maigari, Sunday Tyavnor, Zayor Alfred, Avah Joseph, Gabriel Friday, Rajab Ishiaka, Ali Sani, Nuhu Sule and Muhammed Abubakar.

Items recovered from the gang include one AK-47 rifle, three AK-47 magazines, 90 rounds of 7.62 live ammunition, two pistols and 14 rounds of 9mm live ammunition, while the two-bedroom flats at different locations in Suleja will be considered as exhibits.

Source: Vanguard