Lagos Police Arrest 3 Suspected Kidnappers, Recover N21m Ransom

Operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate allegedly operating from Agadagba community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State and targeting residents of Lagos.

The suspects — 35-year-old sawmiller, Semi Buawe; Bamure Telemowei; and 37-year-old Oluwatomi Obosi were allegedly involved in the abduction of a Lagos-based businesswoman at Ijedodo, Lagos State.

According to police sources, the gang allegedly kept the woman in captivity for three days before releasing her after her family paid N21 million ransom.

The suspects reportedly planned their operations from Ondo State, travelled to Lagos to carry out the abductions and returned to Ondo after collecting ransom from the victims’ relatives.

The Lagos State Police Command is also said to be intensifying efforts to apprehend the alleged leader of the gang, identified simply as “ID”, who the suspects claimed coordinated the operation.

Buawe, during interrogation, admitted participating in the abduction but claimed he had previously decided to quit kidnapping before he was allegedly persuaded by ID to join the Lagos operation.

“My name is Semi Buawe. I am an indigene of Agadagba in the Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. I worked at a sawmill in Ondo State,” he said.

“I have been into kidnapping since 2010, but ID and I were not in the same gang. He came to me in April that he had a job in Lagos and that he wanted me to be part of the operation.”

Buawe said the gang had no specific target when it arrived in Lagos, adding that ID allegedly selected the victim after identifying a “beautiful duplex” in Ijedodo.

“When we came to Lagos, we had no specific target. ID just said that we were going to Ijedodo to look for any rich man,” he said.

He alleged, however, that ID entered the building with another member of the gang while he and Obosi kept watch outside.

“Later he came out with a woman, and we headed straight into the bush in the same area,” he added.

According to him, the victim raised an alarm while they were taking her into the bush, prompting a passer-by to attempt to intervene.

“ID brought out a gun and shot into the air. The man went on his knees and started begging us. I was almost running away, but ID cautioned me,” Buawe said.

He claimed the victim spent three days in captivity and initially refused to eat.

“The woman refused to eat the food that we gave her. On the third day, she agreed to eat a biscuit, and that was the only thing she ate in three days,” he said.

Buawe further alleged that the gang transferred N150,000 to a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator around Ijedodo after exhausting the food supplies they had taken into the bush.

He said negotiations with the victim’s family initially resulted in an offer of N16 million, which ID rejected before eventually accepting N21 million, along with a bottle of Eagle Schnapps, a power bank, and one kilogramme of frozen turkey.

“We collected the ransom in dollars. I got N1.5 million. I did not even use the money for any tangible thing because the money was small,” he said.

Buawe also claimed that he collected one of the victim’s two mobile phones and later handed it to a Bureau de Change operator in Ondo State, who, according to him, had yet to pay him.

Another suspect, Obosi, said he became involved after being introduced to ID, whom he described as the husband of his girlfriend’s sister.

Obosi claimed he participated in the operation because he needed money to fund his marriage.

“I only agreed to follow them for the operation because I needed money to marry as soon as possible. I got N2.5 million after the operation,” he said.

He added that ID allegedly collected N200,000 from each member of the gang after they returned to Agadagba.

Obosi also claimed his role included translating Yoruba for other members of the gang during operations involving Yoruba-speaking victims.

The Command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects and said efforts were ongoing to apprehend other members of the syndicate.

She warned that the command would continue to pursue criminals operating within the state.

“There will be no hiding space for criminals in Lagos State,” Adebisi said.