Members of a kidnapping gang operating in Lagos State but based in Agadagba community, Ondo State, have narrated how they were recruited and how they planned their operations in Ondo before executing them in Lagos.

Three suspected members of the gang, Semi Buawe, Bamure Telemowei and Oluwatomi Obosi, have been arrested by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, led by CSP Sunday Cirman.

It was gathered that the suspects and other members of the gang invaded the Ijedodo area of Lagos State and abducted an unidentified woman.

The gang, allegedly led by a notorious kidnapper simply identified as ID, reportedly held the woman captive for three days before releasing her after her relatives paid N21 million ransom.

It was further gathered that the gang planned its operations in Ondo State and returned there after collecting ransom from relatives of victims abducted in Lagos.

The gang leader, ID, who was alleged to have been involved in kidnapping incidents in different parts of the country, was said to be operating different gangs from Agadagba community.

One of the suspects, 35-year-old Semi Buawe, a sawmiller, confessed to participating in the abduction of the Lagos-based businesswoman.

He claimed that ID persuaded him to join the gang because of his extensive knowledge of Ijedodo and its environs.

Buawe, who also confessed to having participated in kidnapping operations in the past, particularly in Edo State, claimed he had turned a new leaf but was persuaded by ID and some of his friends to participate in the latest operation.

He said: “My name is Semi Buawe. I am an indigene of Agadagba in Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. I worked at a sawmill in Ondo State. I was staying in Lagos before, but I returned to my hometown to do business there.

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

“Initially, I 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 plead with me, and I agreed to join them. They needed my experience and knowledge of Lagos because I had lived there before.”

Narrating how the woman was abducted, Buawe said the gang arrived in Lagos without a specific target.

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

“He went inside the house with another member of the gang, Alfred, while Oluwatomi and I watched the surroundings. Later, he came out with a woman, and we headed straight into the bush in the same area.

“While we were about to enter the bush, the woman started shouting for help. A man who was passing by tried to intervene, but 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 the gang held the woman in the bush while negotiations for ransom were conducted with her family.

“When we got into the bush, ID was the one negotiating with the woman’s family. He asked her if she was the owner of the house. The woman was calling her people. After two days, ID and two others left the bush and kept the woman with Tommy and me.

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

“When we exhausted the food we had with us, we checked her phone and transferred N150,000 to a POS operator around Ijedodo, and we collected the money in cash.”

The suspect said ID later returned and informed them that he had reached an agreement with the victim’s family.

“They initially offered N16 million. ID rejected it. We were even telling him to collect it, but he eventually collected N21 million, one 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 anything tangible because the money was small. I collected one of the woman’s two phones.”

Buawe said he later fell out with the gang leader after they returned to Ondo State.

“When we got to Ondo State, I had a disagreement with ID. I told him I didn’t want to go with him again. He thought I wanted to set him up. I gave the woman’s phone to a Hausa bureau de change operator, and he is yet to pay me,” he said.

Another suspect, Oluwatomi Obosi, claimed he was initiated into the gang by ID, whom he described as the husband of his girlfriend’s elder sister.

Obosi, also known as Tommy, claimed he agreed to participate in the kidnapping because he needed money to get married.

He said: “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 serious about relationships. She advised me to pick a lady and marry so that I could be responsible.

“My grandfather advised me to go to our hometown in Agadagba, Ondo State, to look for a decent girl and that I should look for money to marry her properly.

“I saw a lady in Agadagba and proposed to her. She insisted that I must get the consent of her elder sister before we could start any relationship. It was in the process that I was introduced to ID, who was the leader of our gang. He was the husband of my girlfriend’s sister.

“When I told him that I stayed in Lagos, he told me about the kidnapping plan. He wanted me to translate Yoruba to other members of the gang whenever they abducted a Yoruba victim.”

Obosi claimed he participated in the operation because he needed money for his proposed 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, but when we got to Agadagba, ID collected N200,000 from each of us,” he said.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, adding that the police were on the trail of other members of the gang.

She warned that there would be no hiding place for criminals in Lagos State. (Nigerian Tribune)