A MEMBER of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group was arrested on Saturday night following a botched kidnapping attempt earlier in the day in Jolo, Sulu.
Ayatulla Andam Arabah was apprehended by joint forces of the Patikul police station and the 35th Infantry Battalion after he was tagged in the foiled kidnapping of a woman hours before.
According to initial reports from Col. Allan Arrojado, Joint Task Group Sulu Commander, Arabah is a member of the bandit group with an arrest warrant for a murder case.
The suspect was arrested at around 7:25 p.m. Saturday in Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul, or two hours after he allegedly figured in an abduction attempt in Barangay Busbus, Jolo.
Arabah was tagged in the attempted kidnapping of a woman in Barangay Busbus at around 5:15 p.m. that day.
A sub-group of the Abu Sayyaf, led by Ninok Sappari, is being eyed as behind the botched abduction attempt, according to Arrojado.
Four armed men blocked a passenger tricycle in front of a private high school for boys in Kasulutan Village where the 56-year-old woman was riding.
The woman, however, managed to run away and seek help at a police detachment in the area, with policemen pursuing the fleeing bandits who fired shots at the lawmen.
After the botched kidnapping attempt, the abductors ran off in different directions, leaving behind two motorcycles.
Joint pursuit teams from the police and military chased the kidnappers who fled towards Patikul Hill, where Arabah was arrested.
Authorities said the woman’s son was kidnapped last year and was later released in October 2014 after the payment of ransom. SFM