After being held captive for three days, the three Indian nationals who were kidnapped on May 3, 2024, on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway were released on Monday after being in the custody of their captors.
The Ogun State Police Command told our correspondent on Tuesday that Tejaram Chauham, Kaduwal Pradhan, and Medani Kathiwada had been reunited with their families.
Sixteen expatriates working at the Indian Breeze Company near the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway were heading home at around 7 pm when they were attacked by a group of gunmen suspected to be kidnappers, according to information obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
The manager of the company, Akintande Segun, reported to the police that the gunmen opened fire on their two Toyota Hiace buses, FST 686 YH and SMK 986 YE, leading to the kidnapping of the expatriates.
Our correspondent also learned that a police officer, Inspector Joshua Shua, retaliated with gunfire and then escaped with all the occupants of the bus he was on.
The second bus, carrying Chauham, Pradhan, and Kathiwada, was unable to escape its assailants during the attack, with all the passengers reportedly being kidnapped and taken to unidentified locations.
Just one of the five police officers assigned to the company was present when the expatriates were attacked, according to a police source who was privy to the investigation conducted after the attack.
The source said, “During the investigation, it was discovered that the company employed the services of five mobile men from 54 PMF Onitsha, but only one was on the ground during the attack. We deployed our men along with local vigilante personnel to rescue the victims.”
In a Tuesday WhatsApp conversation with our correspondent, the command spokesperson, Omolola Odutola, disclosed that the three had been freed, though she did not specify if a ransom had been paid.
Odutola stated, “The three kidnapped Indian nationals have regained their freedom. They were freed at about 8:41 p.m. on Monday. Our men are doubling up their efforts to ensure the kidnappers are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.”
The PUNCH reported on April 21 how PengChao Zhang, a Chinese national, was freed from an armed gang on the outskirts of Ilorin, Kwara State, at the Cherish Guest House.
Zhang was held captive for ten days before he was found in a state forest.
The Chinese national was reportedly rescued by police officers working with neighbourhood vigilantes.
