Two alleged kidnappers arrested at Lagdo

Since August 16, 2015, Salé Ali alias Djaouro and Ahmed Alhadji alias Riba are meditating on their faith at the cells of the gendarmerie of Garoua 3rd in Ngong.

Suspected of belonging to a network of hostage-takers, they were arrested on August 14 and 15, 2015 respectively by elements of the Lagdo territorial gendarmerie brigade.

"We knew for a long time that they were involved in hostage-taking in our community, but we were afraid to report them. They are eight in total as we revealed to the Commander. The other six are still at large," a resident at Ouro-Beldoum, a village in Lagdo said.

It was as a result of an umpteenth case that Salé Ali alias Djaouro and Ahmed Alhadji alias Riba fell into the net of the security forces. It all started August 8, 2015 when around 4 o'clock in the morning, eight thugs in Ouro-Beldoum village abducted a rich trader, Alhadji Ibrahima Wadjiri and his son-in-law, Beidi and taken into the bush.

In preparation for the upcoming negotiations, the kidnappers left the family a phone number. Alerted, the Commander of the brigade of the territorial gendarmerie of Lagdo and his elements went to the premises in the early hours of the day and embarked immediately after the criminals.

"In the Bush, Alhadji Ibrahima Wadjiri was tied to a tree but was able to break away and escape while his captors were high on the drugs they consumed. Subsequently, after they noticed his disappearance, the thugs fell on his son-in-law and copiously pummeled him, then abandoned him when they learned that we launched a pursuit to track them. It is after this that Beidi returned to the village," recounted a gendarme.

However, the criminals did not run for long as on August 14, 2015, gendarmes penetrated Ouro-Beldoum where Salé Ali aka Djaouro was surprised at his home. He was immediately apprehended and taken to the brigade.

The next day, August 15, Ahmed Alhadji alias Riba, was spotted at Ouro-Dougoudje market where he came to stock up on food. Alerted, the gendarme arrested and took him to the brigade. On August 16, 2015, he was transferred to the company of the 3rd police of Garoua in Ngong.

"Heavy suspicion hangs on them. Ahmed Alhadji alias Riba seems to be the brains of the gang. He was the one who sponsored all abductions in the locality and hosts the criminals. A few days before, he had threatened his uncle Ibrahima Wadjiri following a brawl, and August 08, he was kidnapped with his son-in-law, Beidi," says a source at the Lagdo gendarmerie brigade.

The accomplices of the two criminals, six in total, are still on the run. They are actively sought by the elements of the gendarmerie brigade of Lagdo.