29th September, 2015
Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Solomon Arase says the police force is not privy to any arrangement that led to the payment of ransom to the kidnappers who kidnapped former Presidential candidate, Chief Olu Falae.
Falae had said on Monday that ransom was paid to the kidnappers to facilitate his release contrary to the statement by the police that they combed every nooks and crannies of Ondo State and succeeded in rescuing the elder statesman.
A statement from the Office of the IGP on Tuesday exonerated the police of any complicity in the ransom saga which led to Falae’s release.
“As a law enforcement agency guided by rule of law and professional ethics, we do not under any circumstance encourage the payment of ransom to kidnappers or other criminals as it is tantamount to rewarding crime and motivating other criminals to follow that path. As such, the police was not in any privy to any arrangement that would have led to payment of ransom by the elder statesman or his family.
“For the respected Chief to declare that he paid a ransom for his release is therefore, a demotivating news. Our approach was a professional response to what we saw as a crime against a respected national personality known to embrace peace and who has dedicated most of his valuable life to selfless service of our nation,” it said.
The statement insisted that the police under the leadership of the IGP deployed its unique intelligence and operational capabilities, including police helicopters for aerial surveillance, saying that the police’s intelligence and operational teams comprising Intelligence Response Team, Conventional and Mobile Policemen were deployed for the rescue operation.
“They followed the path from the point of kidnapping at his farm at Ilado, along Igbatoro Road in Akure, Ondo State and trailed the hoodlums through bushes to Owo in Ondo State. In the process, we were able to identify the major actors and currently, high level police activities are being put in place to apprehend and bring them to justice.
“As professionals, it is our conviction that the unprecedented and massive deployment of police resources and men to support search and rescue operations put pressure on the criminals to release the elder statesman. This is much so, that history has shown that even where ransom is proven to have been paid, the life or safe return of a kidnap victim may not be guaranteed. The primary interest of the police in this instance and granted the circumstances of the incident, was the safe rescue of Chief Olu Falae which was achieved,” it stated.
According to the police, whatever the family did as regards payment of ransom was outside the knowledge and consent of the police, while advising that in the future, families who fell victims of such acts should rather work closely with the police component of the rescue initiative so that the primary purpose could be achieved in rescuing the victims rather than paying money.
“In this instance, having confirmed that ransom was paid to the abductors, the police will be interested in widening their investigative scope with a view to exploring the lead further with regards to how payment was made and to whom such payment was made.
“If the payment was perfected through bank transaction, the police have the capacity to track such transactions and will be liaising with the bank to enable us trace the cash and apprehend the perpetrators. This could be an added lead that could strengthen ongoing post-kidnapping efforts of the police,” it added.