narration of how he helped to pinpoint "a big man who
goes to his farm in Toyota Hilux van" who could be
kidnapped to provide Sallah and wedding funds to
some of his friends.
Narrating the how Chief Olu Falae was abducted in
his farm as he and another suspect Babawuro Kato
were paraded by the Department of State Security
(DSS) at their headquarters in Abuja, Usman said he
was approached by some of his friends in Kwara
State shortly before the last Eid El-Kabir during a
wedding ceremony.
Usman recalled that one Datijo approached him
complaining that he was so broke that he might not
be able to satisfactorily celebrate the coming
festival unless he (Usman) was able to give
information on any big man that could be abducted
for money.
"I then told him that I know one man who used to
bring a Hilux vehicle to his farm and I used to see
him as I move my cows about", he told reporters.
That was how the gang members arranged to
kidnap Chief Falae on his farm on Monday,
September 21, 2015.
Usman said they then took Falae to Owo where he
was kept at a place called 'Pipeline' around Benin
junction where the man was kept.
Eventually, the ransom of N5 million was paid to
Datijo, who according to Usman made away with
the money.
In their narrative, it was the second suspect Kato
who ferried Datijo and Falae on his commercial
motorcycle from the hideout to where he was
eventually picked up by the Police.
Kato however, insisted that he was not part of the
gang as he was only contracted to transport the two
on that night.
According to Mr. Abdullahi Garba who addressed
the press on behalf of the DSS, the suspects were
picked up in Lokoja.
He stated that the abductors were mere criminals
and that their action was not motivated by any
political or ethnic sentiment save for criminality.
"The service wishes to state that the abductors
were mere criminals. Investigations have further
revealed that their action was not targeted at Falae
as a statesman and prominent Yoruba leader".
He enjoined Nigerians to continue to live peacefully
with one another and shun attempts by mischief
makers to give the unfortunate incident an ethnic
coloration and use same to cause disaffection
among the populace.
"To this effect, the Service wishes to appeal to all
Nigerians to be law abiding and responsible in their
commentary on sensitive issues affecting national
security.
"The Service will not hesitate to deal decisively with
anybody, no matter how highly placed, in
accordance with the laws as long as such a person
(s) failed to be a respecter of law or peacefully
coexist among the good citizens of this great
country."
He concluded that efforts were being made to arrest
other members of the gang with a view to bringing
them to justice.
