According to a report by Punch , a 7year
old boy led police to the smash of a
Lagos kidnap syndicate that specializes
in the kidnap of little children, weeks
after he was kidnapped and released by
them...
Punch reports
A university graduate and two
other suspects were on
Wednesday paraded by the Lagos
State Police Command, following
their arrest, by a tip off from a
seven-year-old victim.
The graduate of Economics of
Olabisi Onabanjo University,
Gbenga Sholaja; Olalekan
Benjamin and Samson Shomorin,
who specialise in kidnapping little
boys, were arrested by men of
the Igando Police Division and the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja,
Lagos.
The victim (name withheld) was
said to have been held hostage at
Benjamin’s father’s house at
Ikotun, Lagos.
The child, who was later released
after ransom was paid by his
parents, was said to have
memorised the house address
where he was kept. It was the
child who led police officers to the
same house where Benjamin was
arrested.
Sholaja, who wept profusely during his
interview, told PUNCH Metro that he
was pushed by unemployment into
kidnapping. He said, “I have a Second
Class Upper (Division) in Accounting and
have completed my National Youth
Service Corps programme.
“I went into kidnapping because since I
finished my NYSC in 2011, I have been
unable to get a job.”
An ex-convict, who was remanded in
prison for kidnapping three years ago,
Benjamin, said he met Sholaja at OOU
while he was trying to gain admission
into the school.
He said, “I was a casual worker at a
factory in 2007 before I was sacked; I
earned N300 per day. After staying idle
for some months, I met a friend,
Muyiwa, we were carriers of frozen fish
at Apapa. He introduced me to Taofeeq.
“One day, Taofeeq brought a small boy
to my house and asked me to take care
of him. He claimed that the boy was his
younger brother; he was about seven
years old. The boy stayed in my house
with my family and was well taken care
of for four days. Taofeeq even sent
money for his upkeep.
“When Taofeeq went to collect N150,
000 ransom, he was arrested by SARS
and he led them to my house. We were
charged and sent to prison in November
2009. In September 2010, we were
released because the complainant
refused to show up in court.”
Benajmin and his wife, upon his release,
then moved to his father’s house at
Ikotun area of the state. In 2010, he
was said to have met Sholaja in OOU,
where he went to write the post-
Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination.
The 30-year-old claimed that Sholaja
invited him to take part in another
kidnapping; he said Sholaja had read
about Benjamin’s arrest in the
newspapers.
Benjamin said, “We would kidnap one
boy and we would keep the boy in his
(Sholaja’) mother’s house at Owode
Ijako.
“After a week, the boy’s parents paid
the money. We were given N100,000
and my share was just N40,000.”
Describing their modus operandi,
Benajmin said they usually kidnapped
children while on their way to or from
school. All suspects were said to have
collected a total of N260,000 on two
separate occasions, to secure the
release of two boys.
Benjamin told PUNCH Metro that he
befriended potential victims by buying
them biscuits on their way to school,
thereby earning their trust.
He said, “It was the last kidnap that got
us into trouble. I drove away not
knowing that the boy memorised my
father’s house address, where he was
kept.
“After he was released, he led
policemen to the house and I was
arrested along with my dad but my dad
was later released on bail.”
Shomorin, on his part, confessed to
kidnapping three boys. He urged the
government to pardon them, promising
not to go back to crime.
Lagos Deputy Police Public Relations
Officer, Damasus Ozoani, said the
suspects were arrested on September
29, 2013.
Ozoani said, “They confessed to have
kidnapped three children -one from
Omole Phase 1; one Kola at Alagbado
area and the last one in Owode Ijako,
Ogun State, and various amounts of
money were collected as ransom.”
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