Two Police Officers attached to the Bayelsa State Police Command were yesterday arrested alongside five others over alleged kidnap of the mother of the State Commissioner for Health, Mrs Rachael Eruani.
The two policemen had conspired with a member of the commissioner's family to kidnap the elderly woman from her market stall in Yenagoa, the state capital on the morning of August.
She was held for two weeks until her son, Dr Azibapu Eruani, paid a N3million ransom.
Although Eruani had declined comments about the money the family paid to the kidnappers, the suspects confirmed on Friday at the headquarters of the Bayelsa State Police Command that they had collected N3million.
Commissioner in charge of the command, Mr. Unuoha Udeka, said his command had made a break through in the investigation of the celebrated kidnap case with the arrest of two serving policemen in his command, Cpl Joseph Daniel, F/No 198677 attached to Police Mobile Force 30, Yenagoa, and Pc Ibhisogun Igiagia, F/No 349412 from the command's B Division, in Ekeki, Yenagoa.
Udeka said other suspects arrested in connection with the crime included Talktom Robert, Disobu Agiaigia, Roland Abnara, Oweikeme Oweifa and David Tonde.
The police boss said the two officers had confessed to the crime while the command's crack squad has intensified the other suspects in the case.
One of the officers, Agiagia said the crime had been planned as early as February this year when the first suspect, Talktom Robert, the commissioner's cousin, contacted him to organise the old woman's abduction.
Agiagia confirmed that the family had paid the gang N3million ransom for Madam Eruani.He confessed that his share of the ransom was N300,000 while others including another police officer who was on the run got N200,000 each..
He said the fleeing officer's wife was paid his N200,000 share. Talktom Robert said however that he plotted the kidnap of the commissioner's mother because the younger Eruani had refused to sponsor his education.
The two police men had forcefully arrested Eruani after informing her and other market women at her stall at the popular Opolo market that she was wanted at the police station to answer questions based on a petition from her husband.
Although Eruani had told the officers there was no problem between her and her husband, they insisted on taking her home, from her market stall, to face her husband.