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| Forejo (left) and Ododomu |
Isaiah Ododomu, one of the suspected abductors of the Oniba of Iba, Oba Goriola Oseni’s has narrated how the gang shared the N15.1 million ransoms collected for the monarch’s release.
Oba Oseni was kidnapped on July 16 in his palace. The kidnappers shot a guard, Sunday Okanlawon and the monarch’s younger wife.
Okanlawon later died of gun shot wounds.
Ododomu and Toba Forejo, both from Ondo State, were paraded by the police at the State House, Ikeja, yesterday.
Narrating how they kidnapped the monarch, Ododomu said nine people went to the palace to kidnap the Oba on that fateful day.
Some of the names, he gave, are Toba, Igodo, Mighty, Folly and Sam.
He said Micah, who is a leader did not go with them because “he has a babe with him at home.”
The suspect explained that they were armed with two AK-47 rifles and three pump action guns for the operation.2
According to him, “Toba, Igodo, Mighty and others went to kidnap the king, after which they demanded for N500 million. It was later reduced to N40 million. They were given N12 million. After that we gathered and shared the money.
“All our senior people got the lion share of the money. They gave Toba N1 million, and Micah, collected N2.5 million and so on; for me, they gave me N100, 000.
“I later travelled and when I came back, there was now an argument as to the sharing formula and later some other guys were saying they will not leave the king but the children of the king continued begging. I told them that we should collect any amount and decamp because they can arrest us. Because of me, they agreed to collect N3.1 million. They later brought N3.1 million. The family dropped the money at Igbeyin Adun waterside around Barrack side out of which I was given N100,000. Our base is Ishekemo creek in Ikotun. Toba and the others shared the remaining money.”
Ododomu said he was the one who paddled the monarch on the water to Iba. Others fled on sensing danger and he was arrested.
Ododomu, who said he was into bunking, explained that since the bunkering business had been stopped, they decided to go into kidnapping.
“I am a bunkering man, when this government stopped the bunkering business, our leaders formed another group and we started kidnapping to manage ourselves. I am a married man and I don’t have any job to cater for my family. When we started the kidnapping business, whenever we collected N500,000, they will give me N20,000.
Ferejo confirmed that nine people participated in the monarch’s saying that he was arrested at Iyana School area.
Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode vowed that those involved in the monarch’s abduction would be punished in accordance with the law.
Ambode, in a statement read by the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, said the kidnap of a monarch in Yorubaland was a sacrilege.
He hailed the police, saying the investigation has been painstaking and purposeful to ensure that the kidnappers were apprehended.
“Permit me to state that the kidnap of an Oba in Yoruba land is a sacrilege and a complete desecration of the cultural values of the Yoruba people that must not go unpunished,” he said.
According to him, “the arrest of the suspect is a clear warning to criminal elements that the state government value and cherish the Yoruba tradition and will leave no stone unturned to ensure that it is protected.”
He also commended the ongoing operation Awatse designed to flush out militants and criminals that have been terrorising riverine communities in the state.
“This operation is yielding desirable results and will continue until those criminal activities are completely stamped out,” he said.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Mr. Fatai Owoseni, said:” We have always reiterated that it is not about whether ransom was paid or not. If it is about ransom, suspects would not be arrested. And what I would say is that pressure by the Lagos Command, and the special team of the Inspector-General of Police from Abuja paid off. The most important thing is that Kabiyesi is in his palace.
“As to his state of health, I was with Kabiyesi till about 12 midnight and I can tell you emphatically that Kabiyesi is hale and hearty and he is very strong, and nothing is wrong with him.
“What we want to do is to thank and appreciate the understanding of the family. They have been cooperative with us to get the Kabiyesi out of the hands of his abductors hale and hearty.”
