The police in Edo State have arrested four suspected kidnappers, Destiny Francis (31), Osamuiyobo (26), Believe Fidelis (21) and Joshua Sunday (22) in a forest in Onuyi community in Orhionmwon LGA.
Parading the suspects, the command’s spokesperson, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said they received credible information that hoodlums were sighted in the Onuyi forest holding a meeting, hence that operatives stormed the scene and arrested the suspects with arms.
He listed items recovered from them to include a locally cut-to-size gun, seven cartridges, a gas cylinder, cooking pots and plates.
He said the suspects made statements and confessed to being members of the Eiye Secret Cult Confraternity.
In an interview with journalists, one of the suspects, Francis, who claimed to be a pastor, denied the allegations, saying they were hunters and fishermen.
He said, “I have a ministry, and these people are under my ministry. We went to the forest for fishing and hunting. They even saw the fishing net we set on the river. But because they saw a gun and cartridges with us, they said we are kidnappers. We are not kidnappers.”
