Nigerian police say they have detained 37 people in the southern state of Abia on suspicion of being members of a major kidnapping ring.
“We arrested 37 suspected kidnappers and they are still being screened as the investigation continues,” Geoffrey Ogbonna, a spokesman for Abia police, said on Friday.
“Police acting on a tipoff raided their den,” Ogbonna added.
Nigeria has reportedly one of the world’s highest rates of abduction. Nigerian nationals are the main target of criminal gangs, although expatriates are sometimes kidnapped.
The country has recently witnessed a surge of abductions and atrocities by the Boko Haram Takfiri militants in its northeast.
On April 14, the militants kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the town of Chibok in the state of Borno.
Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape, but 219 are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have failed so far.
The Nigerian government has been under intense pressure by many people around the globe especially the girls’ families to secure their release.
Media reports say the militants also kidnapped 91 people — 31 boys and 60 girls and women — during attacks against villages in Borno earlier this month.
Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is forbidden” — says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
MSM/MHB/MAM
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/06/28/368941/nigeria-nabs-37-suspected-kidnappers/
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