The Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 33- year- old kidnap suspect, Samuel Ogunleye aka Ilaje boy.
The suspect had allegedly threatened to kill one Dare, if he failed to pay him the sum of N400,000.
According to the officer in charge of anti-kidnapping squad, Mr Akinade Adejobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police(CSP), the suspect was being held for attempted kidnap adding that police would fish out others, while culprits would face the wrath of the law.
Recalling how he made attempt to kidnap his victim before the operation was foiled by police operatives, Ogunleye said: “I am an Ilaje boy because I am from Ilaje area of Ondo State. I attended Stadium High School, Surulere, and later worked as a dockworker in Apapa. When my work at Apapa was not going well, I changed work. I started working as a Lotto agent. I am married with two children and my wife sells Ghana bread. I live with my family at No. 47 Giwa Street, Ijora area of Lagos State.
‘’Let me tell you what really happened that fateful day. My landlord had been disturbing me for money. I live in a room self-contained apartment with kitchen and toilet at Ijora. The landlord wanted me to pay one- year rent which is N60,000, but the only money I had to pay him was N21,000. He refused to accept the money insisting that I must pay him N60,000.
‘’Luckily for me, I heard that one Mr. Oseni, a banker and a big brother to Dare would be celebrating his birthday and that his brother Dare had been helping the needy. I did not know how to contact Dare, so after dining and drinking together in celebration of the birthday, I saw a commercial motorcycle rider (okada man) who used to carry the banker to work. The name of the okada man is Yendu. I told Yendu about my plight and asked him whether there was a way he could help me to pay my house rent as my landlord was disturbing me every now and then. He told me that he was also facing financial problems and he promised to introduce me to one Dare. He explained that Dare had been helping people and he also gave me his phone number.
‘’When I called Dare on phone, he said he did not know me. Later same day he, Dare asked me to send my bank account number. Later, one boy whom I do not know his name called me on phone and said I wanted to collect money from Dare.
‘’I did not mention any amount and if they insisted I mentioned any amount, let them kill me. I only sent a text message to Dare, wherein I told him that my landlord was threatening to eject me from my apartment; I did not want to kidnap Dare. When I discovered that he did not want to help me, I left him alone, I had even forgotten about him until police operatives came to my house and picked my sister.
‘’I did not threatened to kill Dare. Check the text I sent to him. It is clear in the text message that I did not tell him that I will kill him, neither did I tell him that he should give me the sum of N400,000 as ransom. I never said such a thing.
On how he was arrested, he said: “I met them (detectives) on the way as they were taking my sister to a police station. I asked them what happened and my sister said the policemen were looking for me and they picked her because they did not see me. It was on a Monday afternoon. The police then arrested me and took me to their station.
Explaining his ordeal, the victim said: ‘’My name is Dare. I finished at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Lagos. The suspect said it was one of my close friends that sent him to me to kill me. He had been calling me on phone for a week. At some points I was not picking his calls until he told me on the telephone that he had been paid to kill me. He said I had helped one of his younger brothers before, and when he showed my picture to him he advised him not to kill me. I later went to the headquarters of the Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ikeja, to report the case. The moment I got to SARS he called me again; he said if I didn’t pay the money, he would kill me. He even raised the ransom from N400,000 to N500,000.
Expatiating further, Dare said: ‘’An operative with SARS called collected the phone and asked the suspect on phone what his brother had done to him. He told him that the former officer in charge of SARS was his friend and that he must pay the money. They told me not to worry that they would track him. He (suspect) then sent his bank account number to me, that I should deposit the money there and called again to find out if I had deposited the money.
‘’When the detectives who were tracking him asked him where they would meet him, he told them to come to Ijora or Surulere and boasted that he would kill those behind me one by one no matter the guns they might possess. I then gave his number to the anti-kidnapping squad and they tracked him.
Dare added: “I am happy now. I used to be afraid when he had not been arrested. At times I will see young men, two or three passing by and looking at me and I would get scared to even come out of my house. Now that he has been arrested, I feel relieved but my fear again is that he is connected with powerful people who may fight for his bail. If he is released my life is not safe. There are more of his kind in our society and Police should arrest them for residents to have their peace.’’
