Two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) wanted for the kidnapping and killing of Jehova’s Witnesses members in 2002 have been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Metro Manila.
NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand Lavin on Tuesday, Oct. 20, identified the two arrested suspected ASG members as Jamar Ibi and Raden Jamil.
“They were arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant in two separate operations by our Counter-Terrorism Division (NBI-CTD),” he said during a press conference.
NBI-CTD Officer-In-Charge Darcy Binaya said the two are among the accused ASG members facing six counts of non-bailable charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom before Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 266, which issued the arrest warrants.
Following the conduct of surveillance operations based on intelligence they received, Binaya said joint elements of the NBI-CTD and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) arrested Ibi in Pasay City on Oct. 12 and Jamil on Oct. 19.
Both face charges related to the Aug. 29, 2002 kidnapping of six Jehova’s Witnesses members in Patikul, Sulu. Two of the male victims were beheaded while the four female victims were raped but managed to escape during military rescue operations after months in captivity.
“These two arrested subjects acted as perimeter guards during the duration of the kidnapping,” Binaya noted.
The NBI official said the operation was conducted “not only to attain justice for the victims but also a preemptive measure.”
“We are intensifying our drive to arrest these ASG members in Metro Manila to discourage those from the provinces to come Manila and plot an attack or anything,” he said.
With the latest arrest, the NBI noted that it has arrested a total of 24 ASG members since last year including 19 last year and five this year.
Both Ibi and Jamil are currently detained at the NBI Detention Facility.