FATHER AND DAUGHTER ARE IN CUSTODY FOR KIDNAPPING AN ONDO CLERIC.

Tunji Wusu –

Police have detained three people, including a father and daughter, in connection with the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric named Alhaji Ibra Alli Bodunde in the state of Ondo.

The 67-year-old priest was abducted last month while working on his farm. He is the Chief Imam of the Uso Community in the state’s Owo Local Government Area.

He apparently paid the N2 million ransom the next day and was freed.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Akure, the state’s capital, said the arrests were made as a result of the rapid action of the command’s agents.

She claims that Muinah Mohammed, Aisha Bello, and Isah Bello are among the suspects.

According to her, on June 18, 2023, a Mrs. Bodunde went to the Uso Division at approximately 6 p.m. to complain that her husband, Alli Bodunde, had gone to the farm and was expected to return at around 2 p.m. Unfortunately, when they did not see him, they dispatched two people to the farm to seek for him.

“When they arrived at the farm, they could see his car and his cellphone but not him. The police acted quickly after the incident was reported, and by the end of the day, the man had been released.

However, as a result of our research, we learned that the suspect is the Chief Imam of the Uso community, and our intelligence team was able to make the arrests.

Isah Bello, one of the suspects, said that Mohammed, his partner, had obtained his SIM card from his daughter Aisha and had used it to contact the victim’s family in order to negotiate the ransom.

“My daughter (Aisha) came to me to get my other SIM card from me,” Bello stated. She didn’t give me a serious response when I inquired what she planned to do with the SIM card, but since I no longer needed it, I gave it to her.

“I had no idea how they were using the SIM card. I don’t know Mohammed, the boy. I had no knowledge of the subject. I went to the Area Command office to report myself even though I wasn’t arrested because it was my folks who had informed me of the situation.

Aisha acknowledged that she had given Mohammed her father’s SIM card, but she insisted that she was unaware of the reason why he had done so.

Odunlami predicted that after the inquiry was complete, the suspects will be charged in court.