Tag Archives: Kidnapping

We need fund to tackle kidnapping, says IG

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Inspector-General of Police (IG) Ibrahim Idris has identified inadequate funding as the factor hindering the police from tackling kidnapping.

He noted that a lot needs to be done to follow up on prosecution of suspects in courts.

Idris spoke yesterday in Abuja during a seminar organised for Zonal and Command Police Public Relations Officers.

The theme of the one-day seminar was: “Public Perception and Improving the Image of Nigeria Police Force”.

On how funding has hampered the police in tackling kidnapping and some of its activities, the IG said: “Members of the National Assembly (NASS) are our survivors. Our progress depends on them because they need to pass our budget every year.

“I have said before now, the NPF is greatly underfunded and for us to give our best, we need to be properly funded. We need funds to pay for allowances, funds to address our administrative requirements and buy equipment.”

“We also have the issue of kidnapping that has become a challenge to us. We need a lot of fund to tackle this challenge. We need fund to enhance our intelligence gathering and address information that are in public space. These are issues that need to be addressed for the police to achieve maximum results.

“For us to have maximum effect in conducting our activities, we need fund to carry out these activities.”
On negative perception the public have about the police, the IG said: “We should come up with strategy to change the negative perception people have about us. We as police officers have to conduct ourselves in a positive way.

“We have to beat our drum loud and clear so that the public can see that their investment in the police is not in vain. If we keep quiet, the negative things that few us do will overshadow the whole good.”

On arrest and prosecution of cases in court, the police chief said: “When you arrest people, follow them to court and allow people monitor and appreciate what we do because people believe that the job stops after we arrest and parade suspects.

“Follow the cases and get the outcome of the cases. Sentencing and serving terms in prison serve as deterrent for future would-be criminals. They would understand that there is a price to pay for crime because you are either sentenced to death or you spend term in prison.”

Idris warned his men against the use of social media for the purpose of showcasing themselves and also using it to divulge classified information.

He noted that such acts were detrimental to the country’s security.

On how police officers are perceived, the resource person from United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Dr. Olu Ogunsakin, said: “The overall legitimacy of the police depends much more on citizens’ perceptions of how the police treat them than on their perceptions of police success in reducing crime.

“Public confidence in and support for the police depends more on citizens perceptions of police officers’ motives than whether the outcome was personally favourable to the citizens.

“If people do not believe that the police are fair, the police may lose legitimacy and people’s confidence and trust in the police can be eroded.”

Police nab two vigilante for alleged kidnapping in Enugu

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The Police Command in Enugu State has arrested two members of vigilance group in Nimbo, Uzouwani Local Government of Enugu State, for alleged kidnap of Enechi Ejiofor on Dec. 13, 2016

The command’s spokesperson, Ebere Amaraizu, made this known to journalists in Enugu on Thursday.

Mr. Amaraizu said the suspects abducted Mr. Ejiofor, a Special Assistant on Security Matters to Uzo Uwani Local Government Area Chairman, in December on his way to an official assignment at Ugwuiyi Ekoro.

The victim is still in the custody of the kidnappers.

He said that the kidnappers demanded N10 million ransom on December14, 2016 from the family but later reduced it to two million which one of the suspects collected.

The police spokesperson said that the two suspects were helping the operatives in their investigations.

He said that the first suspects revealed that they allegedly collaborated with the community vigilance group to kidnap the victim.

Mr. Amaraizu said that the first suspect, who claimed to be a Nollywood actor, said that he played a big role in monitoring the victim’s movement because he “knows him very well.”

The police spokesperson said that the suspects claimed not to know the whereabouts of the victim, saying that some vigilante members known as Ratty, Miri and Earthquake, whom he did not know their real names, knew better.

The second suspect also said that it was the first suspect, his friend, that lured him into the group.

Amaraizu said that first suspect accepted being involved in the kidnap as a full member of the vigilante while the second suspect just joined the group.

Lagos State Government approves death sentence for kidnappers.

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Following the spike in the rate of kidnapping across parts if Lagos State, the Lagos State House of Assembly has approved death sentence for kidnappers, whose victims died in their custody. This development was announced after the end of plenary session by the House yesterday, Thursday, January 5, 2016.

The approval which criminalizes kidnapping in the State followed the adoption of a report presented by Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Petitions, Human Rights and Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC.

Furthermore, the Kidnapping Prohibition Bill 2016 prescribed life sentence to kidnappers, whose victims did not die in their custody.

The law as passed states that any person, who kidnaps, abducts, detains, captures or takes another person by any means or tricks with intent to demand ransom or do anything against his/her will, commits an offence, and liable on conviction to death sentence.

The law, which criminalised attempt to kidnap, also stipulated life imprisonment for anyone who makes attempt to kidnap another person.

Also, the bill is against false representation to release a kidnapped or abducted person. This attracts seven years imprisonment.

The lawmakers also approved 25 years imprisonment to whoever threatens to kidnap another person through phone call, e-mail, text message or any other means of communication.

This development as however led to mixed feelings among Mainlanders following the increased rate of kidnapping in the State.

This is due the recent happening on Wednesday, January 4, 2016, in Owode end of Ikorodu Road after gunmen stormed the area where commuters and other residents were kidnapped in the process.

Similarly, a little girl was kidnapped around the Iyana Ipaja end of Lagos same day. According to the relative who shared the information on social media, the little girl was abducted by a “light skinned man”.

As a result residents have resorted to the use of local vigilante groups to ensure the protection of their area from kidnappers.

While commenting on this, a resident of Owode told InsideMainland that “we need to protect ourselves from the kidnappers who are bent on causing havoc anywhere they go.”

Court Jails Herdsmen For Alleged Kidnapping

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Two herdsmen, Usman Muhammed and Manu Saleh, on Wednesday appeared before a Wuse Zone 2 Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abuja over alleged kidnapping.

They were later remanded in prison custody pending police investigation. Muhammed and Saleh of Gwagwalada Village, Abuja, were arraigned on three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt and kidnapping.

The Senior Magistrate, Mohammed Tahir, gave the order for the defendants to be remanded and adjourned hearing till December 8.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Gambo Musa, told the court that one Saidu Adamu, of Gwagwalada village, Abuja, reported the matter at the Nigeria Mobile Police (Mopol) team in Abuja on Nov. 21.

Musa said that the defendants kidnapped the complainant and his son sometimes in October.He said that the defendants later released the complainant in order to source for the ransom demanded for his son’s release.

The prosecutor added that the complainant’s son also managed to escape. He said that on Nov. 18, the defendants came back to the complainant’s house, hit his hand and head with cutlass and kidnapped his wife.

Musa, said that the defendants kept the complainant’s wife in the bush for two days and demanded for N1million ransom until she managed to escape.

He said that the phone used by the duo in demanding for the ransom was recovered from them during police investigations.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 97, 247 and 273 of the Penal Code.

Credit: NAN

Court remands 2 herdsmen for alleged kidnapping.

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Two herdsmen, Usman Muhammed and Manu Saleh, on Wednesday appeared before a Wuse Zone 2 Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abuja over alleged kidnapping.

They were later remanded in prison custody pending police investigation.

Messrs. Muhammed and Saleh of Gwagwalada Village, Abuja, were arraigned on three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt and kidnapping.

The Senior Magistrate, Mohammed Tahir, gave the order for the defendants to be remanded and adjourned hearing till December 8.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Gambo Musa, told the court that one Saidu Adamu of Gwagwalada village, Abuja, reported the matter at the Nigeria Mobile Police (Mopol) team in Abuja on November 21.

Mr. Musa said that the defendants kidnapped the complainant and his son sometimes in October.
He said that the defendants later released the complainant in order to source for the ransom demanded for his son’s release.

The prosecutor added that the complainant’s son also managed to escape.
He said that on November 18, the defendants came back to the complainant’s house, hit his hand and head with cutlass and kidnapped his wife.

Mr. Musa, said that the defendants kept the complainant’s wife in the bush for two days and demanded for N1million ransom until she managed to escape.

He said that the phone used by the duo in demanding for the ransom was recovered from them during police investigations.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 97, 247 and 273 of the Penal Code.

Delta State Commissioner Of Police Frees 2 Policemen Arrested For Kidnapping

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The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Zanna, has released two Mobile Police Officers who allegedly kidnapped  one Mr. Umukoro Daniel.

The two officers are attached to Mobile Police Unit 31 in Ogwashi Ogwashi-Uku.

The suspected kidnappers, SaharaReporters learnt, are Corporals Musa Edon and Idide Oreva. They were said to have been arrested on a tip-off by a special team of the Delta State House of Assembly Anti-kidnapping Committee, which is made up of Messrs. Austine Opumbor, Mabiaku Ommassan,. Abraham Obarume and Tony Edafiogho, at the Okpara Waterside in Ethiope East Local Government Area of the State. Other members of the gang, however, escaped.

Narrating how policemen were arrested, Mr. Edafiogho, a member of the anti-kidnapping committee, said he and members of his committee got the news of the victim’s kidnap and immediately mobilized their men to rescue him. It was in the process, he explained, that the two policemen were arrested, following spirited efforts.

A source told SaharaReporters that the policemen were shooting into the air, but unknown to them, a motorcyclist who heard the gunshots from a distance, traced and later gave them out. The source added that the two mobile policemen were among five officers assigned to a checkpoint in Abraka, where they were allegedly extorting money from motorists.

But while, parading other suspected kidnappers, cultists and armed robbers at the Police Command Headquarters on Tuesday, it was observed that the two arrested Mobile Policemen had been set free by the Mr. Zanna.  A police source, who confided in SaharaReporters, disclosed that it is the practice of the command that whenever its officers are arrested for any crime, they are released and warned not to repeat the crime.

“This is not the first time our colleagues have been set free. The command will only come tell the public that they will face an orderly room trial. That is the end and are set free.” the source said.

The acting Delta State Police Command spokesperson, Mr. Andy Aniamaka, initially confirmed to journalists that the arrested policemen were in detention at the Command Headquarters in Asaba, while the other members of the gang are at large.

But when contacted shortly after the parade of other criminal suspects, the Public Relations Officer of the Delta State, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, confirmed the release of the two mobile policemen, but could not coherently explain what led to their unconditional release when asked.

Kidnapping: Ambode orders demolition of shanties around creeks

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The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Sunday ordered the immediate demolition of all shanties around the creeks and on the waterways.

Ambode gave the order when he visited the Ilubirin LagosHomes project during an inspection tour of some parts of the state.

He asked all illegal occupants of the shanties to leave within seven days and stressed that the safety of citizens was paramount, hence the government’s zero tolerance for kidnapping and other crimes.

Ambode assured residents that government would review the laws on kidnapping and promised prompt and quick rescue of the students and teachers of Igbonla Model College, Epe, kidnapped on Thursday in their school.

He said, “Most of the issues we have with kidnapping are perpetrated by illegal settlers by the waterfront.

“All shanties along the waterfront of the state must go because the safety of Lagosians is paramount in this administration.

“We will not allow a few set of people who come into Lagos illegally, then stay on our waterfront and use it as an opportunity to kidnap our people.

“We want to assure our people that we are up on the Igbonla kidnap and very soon we will get the students and the teachers back.

” I believe the era of kidnapping has come to an end and I can tell you sincerely, we will deal with kidnappers from this moment on.”

On housing, Ambode said the rent to own scheme as promised by his administration would commence in the next few weeks.

“We believe our people should be able to pay one month rent and live in these housing schemes.

“We do not think in a recession we should be having a situation where we allow people to come and buy when they do not have money,” he said.

He said other housing schemes were on course, adding that a lot of houses would be rolled out in the next few months.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Housing, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, said the Ilubirin housing scheme, which sits on 25 hectares of land to house over 1,500 families, would be completed in partnership with the private sector.

Senate moves to check extra-judicial killings, kidnappings

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The Senate is working on a legislation to check extra-judicial killings in the country. The bill which has passed the second reading is sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West). It is titled “Prohibition and protection of persons from lynching, mob action and extra-judicial executions.”

The senator decried the rate of extra-judicial killings, citing an incident in 2012 where four undergraduates of the University of Port Harcourt called the Aluu Four were battered and burnt alive.

According to him, “the Nigerian constitution states that every Nigerian citizen is entitled to some fundamental rights, one of which is specified in chapter four, which reads in part, ‘Every person has the right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria (Section 33(1).’”

He further said that under Section 34 on the right to dignity of a person, “No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. Even the Bible dictates that we should not kill, hence people should stop the application of jungle justice because of its many consequences.

“Similar incidents of judging and putting to death without lawful trial are recorded daily nationwide. On a single day in July 1999, a suspected robber was laced with a motor tyre and set ablaze and four hotels suspected to be robbers’ hideouts were burnt by mobsters in Onitsha.

“The Apo killings are evergreen, the killing of motor drivers for N20 bribe and the killing of suspects in police custody. The practice of jungle justice is so common in Nigeria that the shout of ‘thief, thief’ has become a combustible alarm sounded by insolvent debtors to consume their creditors.”

He condemned law enforcement agencies for failing in their responsibility of handling arrested criminals like armed robbers, ritualists and kidnappers, adding that, as if policemen never existed, the people are compelled to fight with their backs to the wall and dispense jungle justice.

The bill was first presented on the floor of the Senate on August 11, 2015.

Cultism, kidnapping no longer tolerated in Lagos – Ambode

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The Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday said the menace of cultism and kidnapping currently sending jitters down the spine of many Lagos residents will no longer be tolerated in the state.

Ambode who said this while commissioning the newly constructed Omo Alade Alafia and Oloruntoyin/Jebina Streets in Bariga Local Council Development Area, charged community leaders in all the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Area to report known cultists, kidnappers and other criminals in their domains.

The governor emphasized that exposing the criminals remained the only effective means of curbing crimes in the state.

Ambode added that apart from aggressively embarking on infrastructural renewal across the state, his administration would also do everything possible to protect lives and property.

He said the state government was determined to make the state uncomfortable for the cultists, kidnappers and other criminals.

The governor, who was represented by a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rotimi Abiru and a community leader, Mr. Raphael Olusegun Ajayi, said that timely report of kidnapping, cultism, vandalism and hoodlums will help in dealing with criminal activities in the state.

The governor said: “I enjoin our royal fathers, traditional chiefs, Community Development Associations, market men and women and other stakeholders in our various communities to address the menace of cultism, kidnapping, miscreants, vandalism and hoodlums by providing timely information to our security agencies.”

Ambode who urged the community leaders to take ownership of the facilities, said that plans were afoot to embark on another round of 114 roads project in all the councils in the state.

According to the governor, it was illegal for anyone to sell on the road or engage in unauthorised breaking of roads, adding that it was also forbidden for anyone to convert the roads to automobile workshop, as well as refuse dump site.

“Settle In One Location” – Police In Kano Advises Falgore Herdsmen

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The Kano State Police Command has advised Herdsmen living around the notorious Falgore forest in Doguwa Local Government Area of the state to settle in one place to make security operations easier.

 

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Rabi’u Yusuf, gave the advice during his visit to some communities affected by the activities of kidnappers and bandits in the area.

 

Rabiu said if the Herdsmen could settle in one place, it would assist the police in checking the activities of hoodlums in the affected areas.

 

“If the Herdsmen are based in one location, it will assist the police in tackling the rampant kidnapping of people in the area,” he said.
The Commissioner, who visited the area to assess the security situation, also called on the residents to continue to give the security operatives deployed to the area maximum support to achieve the desired objective.

He also urged them to always be security conscious and report any suspicious movement to security agents for appropriate action.

 

He called on the officers and men deployed to the area to redouble their efforts in the discharge of their duties.

 

In his remarks, the District Head of Doguwa, Alhaji Aliyu Harazimi, commended the efforts of the Commissioner and pledged to give him all necessary support.

 

Harazimi called on the Commissioner to deploy additional armed personnel, especially in the affected areas, to bring an end to the activities of the hoodlums.

“We’re Ready To Surrender” – Ijaw Militants in Lagos, Ogun States.

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Just few days after Ijaw Youth Council claimed that the guys attacking, looting communities in parts of Lagos and Ogun states were not from Ijaw, some revelations are beginning to play out.
Militants and pipeline vandals within Arepo have indicated their commitment to surrender their arms to the Federal Govern­ment.

 

Leader of the Ijaw mili­tant group – Forest Soldiers and Adaka Boro Last Born – General Agbala, told The Sun in a private telephone inter­view that they are agitators and not criminals.
The Army, Air Force and the Navy, have been giving them the heat through aerial bom­bardment to rid the Arepo area of crim­inal elements.

 

The operation which also involve the Police, the De­partment of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Se­curity and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has re­corded substantial success.

 

The militants leader, Agbala who spoke partly in pidgin English in the wake of the bombardment of the areas, said he has been doing his best to rid the area of criminal elements, saying that kid­napping has never been in his line. He said a visit to Ogun State would re­veal that he had in the past handed over a man named Ototo to the police, Bishibi­shi and other boys.

 

Agbala said, “something like kidnap­ping, armed robbery, I am not involved. But na some bad people dey spoil my name up and down. Na im make me dey vex.”
Speaking on their interaction with the government delegation that visited their camps, Agbala said the visit took place last year and he was the one who received the officials.

 

Agbala said they told the government delegation that they had no problem with anyone, even as he stated that they had since been waiting for the implementation of the ne­gotiation before the ongo­ing crisis started. On how to end the pipeline vandalism, Agbala said the government del­egation requested they stop vandalizing pipelines so that they would be given contract to secure the pipe­lines, some would be sent to school, while others would engage in vocational training.

 

Asked to distinguish between vandals and mili­tants, particularly where his group belong to, Agbala said even though they are in Ogun and Lagos states, they are of Ijaw origin.
Corroborating Agbala’s submission, the General Secretary of Forest Soldiers and Adaka Boro Last Born, Honourable Omomoh, said they have always been as­sisting government in rid­ding the areas of criminal elements, saying they made some arrests in the past which the State Anti Rob­bery Squad (SARS) in Ogun State can testify to.
“We are still waiting for them. We are always loyal to the government, but the casualties recorded are too high,” Omomoh declared.

 

Meanwhile, the Joint Force, Operation Delta Safe (ODS), has allayed the fears of people in the Niger Delta region over any possible break of law and order.

 

The Commander of the ODS, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie who spoke in Yena­goa, Bayelsa State vowed that the military would not abdicate its responsibilities to protect the territorial in­tegrity, lives and property in the region.
While dismissing threats by those he stated have no social base, he assured that ODS with its multi agency com­position is capable of nip­ping any security situation in the bud.

Kidnapping: FG Meets With Delegation From Sierra Leone

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has met with a high-powered delegation from Sierra Leone led by Dr. Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone.

The meeting was not unconnected with the recent abduction and rescue of the senior Sierra Leonian diplomat who was kidnapped on the Abuja – Kaduna highway on 30 June 2016.
The meeting also afforded both countries to discuss other issues, including matters of bilateral interest.

The Ministers expressed their commitment to revive the Nigeria/Sierra Leone Joint Commission with a view to strengthening bilateral relations between their two countries.

The Ministers exchanged views on global affairs including, notably, the reform of the United Nations Security Council which will be on the agenda of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union taking place in Kigali, Rwanda from 10 – 18 July 2016.

 The Ministers took note of the current state of affairs in the Security Council reform effort and the multi-dimensional challenges in the process. They underscored the need for greater solidarity among African countries in the reform effort.

The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere which reflects the excellent longstanding relations between Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Credit: Nation

Soldiers Raid Ex-militant’s Home, Allege Gunrunning, Kidnapping

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Soldiers have raided the residents of a former militant leader, Chief Solomon Ndigbara (also known as Osama bin Laden), for alleged gun running and kidnapping.

The soldiers were said to have stormed one of Ndigbara’s houses in Bua-Yeghe, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State from the 2 Brigade base of the Nigerian Army, at about 5.30pm on Sunday.

The soldiers also carried out a similar operation at the home of the ex-Niger Delta agitator in Port Harcourt on Monday.

Earlier, a group of armed policemen had also raided two houses belonging to an ex-militant leader and Caretaker Committee Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government, Mr. Soboma Jackrich.

Confirming the raid through a statement on Monday, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Captain Eli Lazarus, said Ndigbara’s supporters staged a protest against the raid.

“Men of 2 Brigade Nigerian Army relying on credible intelligence conducted a raid operation on Sunday 11 January 2016 on the residence of one Mr. Solo also known as “General Solo” in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.

“Mr. Solomon Ndigbara is suspected of gun running and kidnapping activities. Sadly, supporters of the suspect mobilised and staged a protest against the raid.

“During the protest, several property belonging to the suspect and other innocent citizens were destroyed. Investigation into the suspected criminal activities of Mr. Solomon is ongoing.

“The Brigade enjoins all law-abiding citizens in the area to go about their lawful activities as the military will continue to work assiduously to ensure the protection of lives and property of all,” the statement read.

Sources said the whereabouts of Ndigbara’s wife, Kate, and his two younger brothers identified as Bariagan and Gabriel Ndigbara remained unknown after the soldiers’ operation.

It was learnt that the soldiers destroyed two vehicles; a Toyota Sienna and Lexus SUV, even as sources said that some rooms in Ndigbara’s Bua-Nyeghe home were ransacked while some property inside the rooms were damaged.

In his reaction, the Chairman of Gokana Local Government Area, Mr. Austin Sor, described the operation as an onslaught, shocking and unwarranted.

Sor said, “It is pathetic and a war declared on Chief Solomon Ndigbara and the people of Bua-Yeghe. To me, this is a political war.

“Yesterday at about 4pm, I was in the community field watching a final match when some of my community boys came to call me and asked if I am aware that Army has taken over the community.

“When I got there, actually, what I saw were heavily armed soldiers with 10 vans in the compound of Solomon Ndigbara. An attempt to get their attention to know who sent them was seriously resisted. Even the paramount could not access them.”

Rick Ross Arrested On Kidnapping, Assault Charges

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Rapper Rick Ross is facing kidnapping and assault charges after a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force and deputies arrested him at his mansion south of Atlanta early Wednesday, authorities said.

Ross and a man described as his bodyguard were taken into custody in Fayette County, Jim Joyner, a supervisor with the Marshals’ Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, told The Associated Press.

Ross — whose real name is William Roberts — was being held in the Fayette County Jail on charges of kidnapping, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, Joyner said. The bodyguard, whose name wasn’t released, faces the same charges.

Officers showed up at the mansion, once owned by boxer Evander Holyfield, but someone inside refused to open the gate leading to the home, authorities said.

“They refused to open the gate, so we opened the gate for them,” Joyner said.

Once officers got past the gate, someone inside opened the front door so they didn’t have to break it down, Joyner said. Ross and the bodyguard were then taken into custody without incident, Joyner said.

“They didn’t put up a struggle or anything,” he said.

Read More: AP