Joy Anyim
Operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested a notorious kidnap-for-ransom suspect, Erememi Captain, allegedly involved in the killing of several naval personnel and the kidnap of 14 foreign sailors in Bayelsa and Rivers states.
Captain, formerly a fisherman based in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said he ventured into kidnapping, sea piracy and oil pipeline vandalism after he met a friend identified as Owei, who assured him of a better life after joining the gang.
The suspect, alias Nwalanta, was arrested alongside Kelvin Dikuro, alias General Small Voice, suspected to be the leader of the notorious gang.
It was gathered that the suspects were tracked and arrested, following intelligence reports about their activities.
Captain, who hails from Bayelsa State, said his gang also kidnapped an oil worker at an oil rig owned by Shell Petroleum at Ekeremor Local Government area of the state.
While he maintained that Dikuro was not the leader of the gang, he named one Moriekem as the leader of the gang, alleging that Moriekem also initiated all members of the gang into the Green Lander Cult.
In his confessional statement, Captain said the gang chose to attack and kill naval operatives because the operatives often attacked and destroyed their camps.
He said: “The leader of the gang was Moriekem, who is from Southern Ijaw. We went on several kidnap operations. The first kidnapping I went with the gang was the kidnap of some oil workers and a military officer at Ayama Town.
“We were 10 in number that went for that operation and all of us were armed with Ak-47 rifles loaded with 120 rounds of live ammunition each. The second kidnap operation was at Dodo North oil Rig, belonging to Shell Petroleum Development and we kidnapped one of the workers on the rig at Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
“It was Moriekeme that usually negotiated with the company and I don’t know how much was paid, as ransom but I bought cocaine for my personal consumption and built a house with my share of the ransom. My gang members and I also attacked and destroyed a navy house boat with dynamite, killing all the soldiers onboard the house boat at Ekeremor.
“The reason we carried out that operation was because the navy house boat had been destroying our camps, where we kept our kidnap victims and illegally refined petroleum products. Our gang also ambushed and killed four soldiers and took away their rifles.
“All our rifles are kept by Moriekeme in the creek and we also killed some soldiers at Southern Ijaw in June 2020. We attacked a merchant vessel named ‘Ambica’ in Dodo River and killed four military officers attached to her and went away with their rifles.
“I have also gone for kidnapping in Rivers State where the police engaged my gang and in the process I sustained bullet wound on my right hand but we manage to escape. I also belong to the Green Lander Cult. Morikeme initiated me into it.”
Speaking on his criminal adventure, Dikuro, a native of Nembe Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, said he went into kidnapping and sea piracy after his elder brother, a notorious kidnap kingpin, was killed, leaving behind, five AK-47 rifles.
He confessed to forming a five-man gang that terrorised seafarers, especially along the Gulf of Guinea, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
According to the 24-year-old, the gang had a hideout at New Jerusalem Island in Buguma Local Government Area of Rivers State, where they keep their victims until ransom is paid.
Stating that he had made only N1.2 million in two major kidnap-for-ransom operations he participated in, Dikuro said the gang killed two persons on two separate sea piracy operations.
He said, “The name ‘General Small Voice’ was originally owned by my late elder brother. He was a kidnapper and was into oil bunkering. He was killed on August 17, 2017, because of his restiveness in our community.
“My brother had five Ak-rifles he was using for kidnap activities. After my brother’s death, I inherited his guns and I formed a five-man gang, and we went into kidnapping.
“We kidnapped nine foreign sailors from their vessel in January 2019, at the sea in Bayelsa State and we took them to New Jerusalem Island in Buguma Local Government Area of Rivers State. We kept them for 14 days and we fed them with noodles. One of my brother’s friends, known as Commander Sunday, and also a member of the new gang I had formed, was the person communicating with relatives of the victims and the sum of N5 million was eventually paid as ransom.
“I was given N200,000 as my share and our other gang members got their own share, but N400,000 was also given to me to buy ammunition for the gang.
“The second kidnapping we did was also on the high sea in Bayelsa State and we kidnapped five foreign sailors.
“Our magazines were loaded with 30 rounds of live ammunition in each of the rifles. We took our victims to New Jerusalem Island and again, Commander Sunday did the negotiation for the ransom.
“The sum of N10 million was paid as ransom, and the victims were released. I got N1 million as my share of the ransom. We also carried out two sea pirate operations where two persons were killed.”
Dikuro, who is also being accused of his involvement in the kidnap of the father of the Sagbama Local Government Chairman, denied knowledge of the operation.
He maintained he was not in Bayelsa State when his other gang members masterminded the kidnap of the aged man, and subsequently demanded ransom.
The kingpin narrated how one Preye contacted him to negotiate ransom for the release of the victim. He said N1.3 million was paid to him as ransom, but he chose not to inform his gang members, but fled with the money.
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He said: “I wasn’t in town when the kidnap of the father of the Sagbama Local Government Chairman took place. I was in Omoku in Rivers State with my family when it happened and I got a call from one Preye, who informed me that my gang members were behind the kidnap.
“He wanted me to negotiate the release of the man and he gave me the sum of N1.3 million to take into the creek and give to my boys.
“I fled with the money because Commander Sunday, who was with my guns, led the kidnapping and he didn’t brief me about the operation and the amount he was negotiating as ransom. I was arrested in my house in Omoku one week after I collected the money and I don’t know if the father of the Sagbama Local Government Chairman has been released.”
Sources at the IRT Headquarters in Abuja, said the suspects are helping the police to track and arrest other members of their gang.
The source said the suspects would be charged to court at the completion of investigations.