7th July, 2011
The police in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria have rescued a six-year old girl from alleged kidnappers, who demanded for N5 million ransom from her parents in exchange for her freedom.
P.M.NEWS learnt from detectives at SARS in Ikeja that the leader of the suspected kidnappers, Segun Ogunbanwo and his accomplices, stormed the home of Mr. and Mrs Olawole, located at 20, Ayodeji Ogunlana Street, Silver Estate, Idimu, Lagos and abducted their only daughter on 30 June after tying the hands and legs of her lesson teacher.
The six-year old girl, Omonike Olawole was taken by the alleged kidnappers from Idimu in Lagos to Mowe in Ogun State where she was fed for four days with dry gari and beans by the kidnappers.
The kidnappers later phoned her parents on phone and demanded for the payment of N5 million ransom.
When the matter was reported to the police at Idimu, the parents were advised to play along with the kidnappers, while anti-robbery police officers from SARS stepped into the matter.
In his confession to the police, Ogunbanwo, 20 revealed that he and members of his gang came to the victim’s house, armed with guns and cutlasses, adding that he embarked on the evil adventure because he desperately needed money.
On how he was caught, he disclosed that he did not know that some police officers, who pretended to be concerned members of the family, were actually involved in the ransom negotiation, which he initially reduced from N5 million to N2 million and after much pleading agreed to take N700,000.
Samuel Jinadu, Lagos police command spokesman said the kidnapper was nabbed while going to the agreed point at Mowe, Ibafo, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to pick up the ransom money.
Commenting on the release of her daughter, Mrs Toyin Olawole, mother of the girl expressed gratitude to the police in Lagos for a job well done, adding that the police displayed professionalism in the handling of the case.
—Ayodeji Dedeigbo & Emmanuel Udom