After three days in the den of kidnappers, the former Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF) Chief Olu Falae, Thursday afternoon regained freedom.
Falae, who is a Chieftain of Afenifere, was abducted on Monday afternoon by suspected herdsmen at his farmland in Ilado, Akure North Local Government area of Ondo State.
The rescue team was led by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase, who arrived the state on Thursday morning.
Arase reportedly led other policemen to Falae’s farm, where he was later rescued from his abductors.
It was not clear if the policemen and Falae’s kidnappers engaged in gun battle before the elder statesman was released.
But, it was gathered that Falae was rescued in a bush in Owo Local government.
Falae, who arrived his house along Oba-ile road in Akure and accompanied by the I.G, refused to speak with newsmen.
But, he only told the Governor, Olusegun Mimiko that he had a bad experience from his abductors and that he was made to sleep on the floor for the three days he spent in captivity.
The I.G, while speaking with newsmen, said no ransom was paid to the hoodlums before Falae was released.
Arase neither denied or confirmed if any arrest was made during the rescue operation.
He said, “Security challenges like this are new trend. They are emerging trend. It is not only localised in Nigeria. It is a global thing. We are going to devise strategies to ensure that hoodlums cannot overwhelm a state. It is not possible.
“We will continue to disgrace them, we will continue to catch them. Right from Monday when he was kidnapped, policemen had been working underground. No ransom was paid. I will let you know if anybody was apprehended later.”
Mimiko said, “We are happy he is back. We thank God he is back both safe and sound. We are just happy that he is back. Number one, I was praying he would come back safely because there could be very seriously security dimensions to it.
“So, we thank God he is back. Naturally, one is also worried that issue of kidnapping is taking another dimension in Nigeria.”
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