DCOP Redeemer Vincent Dedjoe, the Western Regional Police Commander says contact established with the Nigerian Police has confirmed that suspect Samuel Udoetuk Wills is a tradesman in the kidnapping business.
“Samuel Udoetuk Wills, according to information gathered through Interpol is a well connected kidnapper who had suffered jail term in that regard”.
DCOP Dedjoe at a press briefing in Sekondi to update the media on reported cases of kidnapping within the Metropolis in the last five months said the force was on top of investigations despite the hell of time the suspect was putting them to in getting the four accomplice mentioned by him as partners in the trade.
The accused though arrested in December, broke the prison cells at about 1850 in the evening of 30th December, 2018 but was rearrested on 3rd January , 2019 and was subsequently arraigned before the Takoradi Magistrate court on charges of Escaping from lawful custody, causing unlawful damage and resisting arrest.
He however pleaded not guilty to all the three counts and has since been remanded into prison custody.
The Regional Commander therefore assured parents and families of the affected girls to have confidence in the investigation process and exercise restraint to enable the Police bring all the chain of perpetrators to book.
DCOP Dedjoe said the accused person over the last month upon his recapture and remand in prison custody had only given wrongs or false leads to where his accomplices were, ” We have gone to Accra many times to places he claim his accomplices are dwelling but such places are always empty…we have not been successful in arresting them yet”.
The Regional Commander therefore entreated the public to provide relevant information to enable the police finish well on the matter at hand.
So far, the accused kidnapper described as having a signature in that woeful business had triumph over three girls whom he engaged in conversation and established some level of friendship with them before carrying out the act on those fateful days.
The first Victim, Priscilla Blessing Bentum, age 21, third year student of the University of Education Winneba was kidnapped at Kansaworodo.
Here, the parents paid a ransom of 4500 cedis of which he promised to release the victims but failed to do so despite receiving the monies.
The second victim aged 18 years and a senior high school leaver was kidnapped at Nkroful Junction in Sekondi and a ransom of 1300 was also paid to the kidnapper but without result.
The third instance was a 15-year-old girl and fresh students at Sekondi College also kidnapped at a spot near Nkroful Junction.
In all the situations, the Police had established that there was a conversation between the affected victims and the kidnapper which lasted for days a situation which raises eye brows on personal security issues.
“In all instances where the accused kidnapped the three victims, it was observed that he strikes acquaintances with the victims for some time…the accused contacted the victims several times through mobile phone communications.
He promised the first and second victims’ jobs and the third a mobile phone”.
DCOP said, “the catalogue of calls between the accused person and the victims were analysed and the police established connections of the accused to the three kidnapped cases…we have also found the dress, head gear and rubber slippers of one of the girls at his hide out when he was rearrested in his hide out at an uncompleted building in Kansaworondo”.
The Regional Commander said all gadgets recovered from the accused had been forwarded to the CID headquarters for analysis and urged the public to volunteer positive information to help in rescuing the girls, ” we are also appealing to the parents of the victims to stay calm as the police is working around the clock to rescue the victims “.
Source: GNA