Turkish school: Police uncover kidnappers’ location, identities

The police have discovered where the kidnappers who abducted 10 students and staff of the Nigerian Turkish International College are keeping their hostages, The Nation gathered on Tuesday.

A top police source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the identities of the kidnappers had also been uncovered.

The location, he added, was in the creeks, but detectives who were on the abductors’ trail could not on their own access the place for fear of endangering the captives.

“We know the exact location in the creek where the children and members of staff are kept but we cannot storm the place because the lives of the children are in danger.

“We would not make the mistake of attempting the creek because there is no how the kidnappers will not see us coming and they may end up killing their victims. We need the assistance of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the Nigerian Army, who we think, have the wherewithal to penetrate the creek through the air,” he said.

Another police source disclosed that the identities of the abductors were known.

He said, “We have met with families and relatives of some of the kidnappers who are currently speaking with them. We have gone to Ondo, Delta and Edo States to consult with their families. I think the families are cooperating and are assisting us in talking to them.

“But if this option fails, we will not have any other reason not to use our plan B, which we can’t disclose but will yield positive results. The identities are well known and they know we know them. But we are using wisdom for the sake of the innocent children.

“We are not happy that they are playing with the lives of innocent children. They are taking the joke too far and the whole world is watching. The most annoying thing is that one of the students is a sickle cell anaemia patient and she is seriously sick at the moment.”

Also, the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) yesterday urged the police to make a formal request for assistance in the rescue operation.
NAF Director of Public Relations (DOPRI), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, said: “This is not a problem. The police should go to the appropriate authorities and put their request forward to the Air Force. It is not an issue. They know the procedures.”

Meanwhile, the school’s spokesperson, Cemal Yigit debunked insinuations that it had foreknowledge of the abduction.

He said suggestions that the management of the school was not serious about security issues around the school were unfounded and that nobody warned the school authority before the kidnappers’ invasion.

“No such information. It is false, just rumors. Don’t give credit to such information. Like the victims, the school itself is a victim as well, so the security agencies are attending to the matter to the best of their capacities.”

Gunmen stormed the school on Friday night and abducted 10 students and staff. They include a Turkish Mathematics teacher identified as Miss Deria; the House mistress, Miss Rashida Ibrahim and the cook identified as Miss Shekura.

Others were female students, Rebecca Agu in Senior Secondary School (SSS) 2 Nwosu Teslie in Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1, Zainab Olatubosun in JSS 2, Rodia Amina and Aderitan Alnad, both scholarship students of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB and two unnamed persons.

It was learnt on Monday that the kidnappers had reduced their demand of N1.2 billion ransom to N750 million.

Relatives of the Nigerian victims were requested to pay N50 million each while N200 million was demanded as ransom for that of the Turkish Mathematics teacher, Miss Deria.