•The suspects
For three days, a Lagos businesswoman remained in the bush at Ijedodo, unsure of what would happen to her, while her abductors negotiated with her family over a ransom running into millions of naira.
The woman had allegedly been taken from a beautiful duplex in the Ijedodo area of Lagos State by a gang that had travelled from Agadagba Community in Ondo State to search for a wealthy victim, reports Saturday Independent.
By the time she regained her freedom, her family had reportedly parted with N21 million, while her abductors had also collected other items, including a bottle of Eagle Schnapps, a power bank and a kilogramme of frozen turkey.
The operation, according to one of the suspects arrested by the Lagos State Police Command, was allegedly planned in Ondo State and executed in Lagos before members of the gang returned to their home state.
Three members of the syndicate — 35-year-old sawmiller, Semi Buawe; Bamure Telemowei and 37-year-old Oluwatomi Obosi are now in police custody following their arrest by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command.
The police are, however, still searching for the alleged leader of the gang, identified simply as ID, who the suspects said coordinated the operation.
Unlike conventional kidnapping gangs that operate within a particular territory, the suspects allegedly travelled from Ondo State to Lagos because of their belief that the state offered access to wealthy residents who could pay substantial ransom.
For Semi, the journey to Lagos was also a return to familiar territory.
He told the police that he had lived in Lagos before returning to his hometown in Ondo State, a background he said made him useful to the gang during the operation.
“My name is Semi Buawe. I am an indigene of Agadagba in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. I work at a sawmill in Ondo State. I was staying in Lagos before, but I returned to my hometown to do business,” he said.
Semi also admitted that he had been involved in kidnapping since 2010, although he claimed he had decided to abandon the criminal enterprise before the latest operation.
According to him, ID approached him in April and asked him to participate in a kidnapping operation in Lagos.
“I initially declined because I had decided that I wanted to quit kidnapping. He kept calling and begging me. Later, he brought some of his friends to beg me and I agreed to join them,” he said.
The suspect claimed that ID was particularly interested in his knowledge of Lagos and the Ijedodo area. When they arrived in Lagos, however, there was reportedly no specific victim waiting for them.
Instead, Semi said the gang began moving around Ijedodo in search of someone they believed could pay a substantial ransom.
“We had no specific target. ID just said that we were going to Ijedodo to look for any rich man,” he said.
But the operation allegedly changed when ID spotted a duplex he considered a potential target.
“We were walking when ID suddenly stopped in front of a very beautiful duplex. He concluded that the owner of the house must be very rich,” Semi said.
According to him, ID and another member of the gang, identified as Alfred, entered the premises while he and Oluwatomi remained outside to monitor the surroundings.
Moments later, the men allegedly emerged with a woman and headed towards a nearby bush. It was while they were approaching the bush that the victim reportedly began shouting for help.
Semi claimed that a man passing by attempted to intervene, but ID allegedly fired a shot into the air, forcing the man to retreat.
“I was almost running away, but ID cautioned me,” he said.
The woman was subsequently taken into the bush, where she was held while negotiations with her family began.
Semi said ID initially remained with the victim before leaving the area with two other members of the gang, leaving him and Oluwatomi behind to keep watch over the woman.
The conditions in the bush reportedly became difficult as the days passed.
Semi claimed that the woman initially refused to eat the food provided by her captors and only agreed to take biscuits on the third day.
When the gang’s food supplies ran out, they allegedly searched the woman’s phone and transferred N150,000 to a Point of Sale operator around Ijedodo before collecting the money in cash to replenish their supplies.
The ransom negotiation, meanwhile, was allegedly being handled by ID. Semi said the victim’s family initially offered N16 million, but the gang leader rejected the amount.
“We were even telling him to collect it like that, but he eventually collected N21 million, one bottle of Eagle Schnapps, power bank and one kilogramme of frozen turkey,” he said.
According to the suspect, the ransom was collected in dollars and later shared among members of the gang.
Semi claimed that he received N1.5 million as his share.
“I did not even use the money for anything tangible because the money was small,” he said. He also admitted taking one of the victim’s two mobile phones.
The gang subsequently returned to Ondo State, but the operation reportedly created a rift between Semi and ID.
Semi said he told the gang leader that he no longer wanted to participate in further kidnapping operations, but ID allegedly became suspicious that he intended to expose the syndicate.
He claimed that he subsequently handed the victim’s phone to an Hausa Bureau de Change operator but had yet to receive payment for it.
While Semi portrayed his involvement as a return to a criminal activity he claimed to have abandoned, another suspect, Oluwatomi Obosi, gave a different reason for joining the operation.
Tommy, as he is popularly called, said his decision was largely driven by his desire to raise money for marriage.
He claimed that his connection to ID began through a relationship.
According to him, ID was the husband of the elder sister of his girlfriend.
Tommy said his family had been putting pressure on him to settle down and get married.
“I am 37 years old. Sometime in April, I was with my girlfriend at our house in Ikorodu when my mother told me to be very serious with the relationship. She advised me to pick a lady and marry so that I can be responsible,” he said.
He added that his grandfather subsequently advised him to return to their hometown in Agadagba, Ondo State, to find a suitable woman and raise money for a proper marriage.
Tommy said he eventually met a woman and proposed to her, but she insisted that he first obtain the approval of her elder sister.
It was during that process, he claimed, that he became acquainted with ID.
“When I told him that I stayed in Lagos, he told me about the kidnapping plan. He wanted me to be translating Yoruba language to other members of the gang whenever the gang abducted a Yoruba victim,” he said.
Tommy claimed that he agreed to participate because he needed money to marry. After the operation, he said, he received N2.5 million, but ID allegedly collected N200,000 from each member of the gang after they returned to Agadagba.
The arrests have now opened another window into how criminal networks can operate across state boundaries, with members allegedly planning operations in one state and travelling to another to execute them before retreating to their home base.
The Lagos State Police Command, meanwhile, said the investigation was ongoing and that efforts were being made to apprehend other members of the syndicate, including the alleged leader.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrests and said the police were on the trail of other members of the gang.
Adebisi also warned that the Command would continue to pursue criminal elements operating in Lagos.
She assured residents that there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state.
