There are indications that the police have traced the den where six pupils of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe, are held hostage to a creek in Ogun State.
Although the exact location was not disclosed, Punch learnt from a competent source that the den shared borders with Epe and Ibeju-Lekki.
The source told Punch that the lives of the victims would be endangered if force was deployed to free them.
The pupils had spent 11 days in captivity.
The kidnappers called some parents of the victims on Saturday, May 27, demanding N400m each from two parents, while two others were asked to pay N100m each.
Three days after, the kidnappers reduced the ransom to N600m, with parents of each child asked to pay N100m. The ransom had further been reduced to N100m for all the children.
A security source confided in Punch correspondent on Sunday that the location of the victims was not in doubt, but there was the need to apply caution for the safety of the victims.
He said it was difficult to catch the assailants off guard because of the difficulty in navigating through the terrain, where their camp was located.
He said, “The kidnappers are in a creek in Ogun State. If operatives are to enter that place, the lives of the children will be endangered. If it were to be that they were kept in a house, the building would have been cordoned off and busted.
“This is a creek that you have to use a speedboat to access. Before you reach there, they (kidnappers) will see you from afar. So, they have many options. They can kill the children and run away and you may never find them. These are people who are brought up in watersides. So, they know how to navigate creeks more than anyone else. That is what is delaying the rescue.”
Another source, who affirmed the volatility of the den, said it would be expedient to pay some ransom to secure the release of the victims while security agencies carried out their duties thereafter.
Although the exact location was not disclosed, Punch learnt from a competent source that the den shared borders with Epe and Ibeju-Lekki.
The source told Punch that the lives of the victims would be endangered if force was deployed to free them.
The pupils had spent 11 days in captivity.
The kidnappers called some parents of the victims on Saturday, May 27, demanding N400m each from two parents, while two others were asked to pay N100m each.
Three days after, the kidnappers reduced the ransom to N600m, with parents of each child asked to pay N100m. The ransom had further been reduced to N100m for all the children.
A security source confided in Punch correspondent on Sunday that the location of the victims was not in doubt, but there was the need to apply caution for the safety of the victims.
He said it was difficult to catch the assailants off guard because of the difficulty in navigating through the terrain, where their camp was located.
He said, “The kidnappers are in a creek in Ogun State. If operatives are to enter that place, the lives of the children will be endangered. If it were to be that they were kept in a house, the building would have been cordoned off and busted.
“This is a creek that you have to use a speedboat to access. Before you reach there, they (kidnappers) will see you from afar. So, they have many options. They can kill the children and run away and you may never find them. These are people who are brought up in watersides. So, they know how to navigate creeks more than anyone else. That is what is delaying the rescue.”
Another source, who affirmed the volatility of the den, said it would be expedient to pay some ransom to secure the release of the victims while security agencies carried out their duties thereafter.