Kogi demolishes dens of kidnappers, terrorists

The Kogi State Government on Wednesday demolished a house and a mosque identified as hideouts of kidnappers, terrorists and armed robbers in Okene.
The house was said to be owned by a kidnap kingpin, Tijani Abubakar, while the mosque was owned by a suspected terrorist group.
The demolition of the buildings, supervised by Governor Yahaya Bello, was in line with the state’s law on terrorism.
The building belonging to Abubakar at Oyunkoko Ward in Okene Local Government was the first to be demolished at about 2:30pm.
The mosque, identified as Ahlul-Sunnah Mosque, in Inike, also in Okene, was demolished later.
The mosque was said to have been hijacked by the notorious terrorists group, Boko Haram, in 2015 and had been serving as their operational base.
The buildings were identified by the Military Joint Task Force, which recently arrested some 17 robbery, kidnap and terrorism suspects.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilson Inalegwu, and heads of other security agencies accompanied the governor during the demolition.
The state has also lined up other buildings identified as criminals’ hideouts in the state for demolition.
Bello vowed to implement the Anti-kidnapping, Robbery and Terrorism Law of the state to the letter.
Inalegwu said the state was no longer safe for criminals.
He said: “This is a strong message to kidnappers and hoodlums that they must change their ways.
“They should work hard and earn a decent living.
“We want to make Kogi safe so that those living here or travelling through will not have fear of being kidnapped.”