Ozekhome’s kidnapper arrested in Benin

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Operatives of Nigeria’s Department of State Security Service, DSS, Edo state Command, Wednesday said they have arrested kidnap kingpin, Kelvin Oburuvbe, in Benin City.

Oburuvbe was alleged to be the brain behind most of the high profile abductions in Edo State.

He was allegedly responsible for the abduction of human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, his driver and an APC chieftain, Athansius Ugbome on Friday 23 August, and were released about three weeks after.

Edo State Director of the DSS, Mr. Bello Tukur Bakori could not be reached as the time of filing the report, but a source close to his office confirmed to journalists that Oburuvbe was trailed from his hideout after a tip-off before he was arrested.

The source further disclosed that the men of the DSS had been on the trail of Oburuvbe for more that two years, adding that the kidnap kingpin stays abroad and only comes back to the state whenever he has any abduction operation to make.

“We have been on the trail of Oburuvbe for more than two years. He is responsible for most of the high profile kidnappings in the state. The latest is the kidnap of Chief Mike Ozekhome in August this year,” the source said.

Investigation revealed that the kidnap czar operated several kidnap camps in Benin where victims were usually kept before contacting their families for ransom.

The same Kelvin was also said to have been arrested in neighboring Delta state.

According to Delta State SSS, Kelvin Obvrubie, was arrested along with four other suspects.

Kelvin had been on wanted list of security agencies in the state.

The Director of SSS in Delta, Mrs Florence Ikanon, who confirmed the arrest in Asaba, said that Obvrubie was involved in many robbery and kidnapping cases in the state.

Speaking through her assistant, Mr Igbeji Didhcus, she said that the most wanted suspect was terrorising residents of Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state.

She said that the other suspects were arrested on Sept. 17 in a forest at Osubi, Uwie Local Government Area of the state.

The director said that they were arrested in connection with the kidnap of Mr Rufus Uzoma, a staff of Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) and Mrs Toyin Atoyebi.

She said that the suspects had confessed to planning and kidnapping the victim on Aug. 10 in his residence at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.

According to her, the suspects collected N2 million as ransom from the family of Uzoma.

“Within the same period, the suspects also kidnapped one Atoyebi, who the command later rescued from them in the same Osubi forest,” she said.

The director said that items recovered from them included one locally-made cut to size gun, N819, 000, a mask and a Nokia mobile phone.

She said that the service had intensified efforts to arrest other fleeing members of the gang, adding that those arrested would be arraigned immediately investigations were concluded.