 |
| The suspects |
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a man and his son for allegedly kidnapping a teenager, Mathew Chukwuebuka.
The suspects, Alhaji Muhibudeen Akorede and Thoa Akorede, were said to have held their 19-year-old victim, who was rescued from their custody, hostage for nine days without food.
A statement on Wednesday by police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said the suspects were arrested in Ibadan, Oyo State, by operatives of the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), who trailed them there with support from the Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU).
He said the command on July 4 received a directive to follow up a petition sent to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Elkana said the suspects had demanded N30million ransom, which they told the victimโs family to pay into his (the victimโs) account so they could withdraw same since the boy was with them.
He said the teenager told the police that he did not know how he got to Ibadan, adding that it all happened after he received a call on his phone.
โThe boy said on arrival in Ibadan, he was given something from a black pot to eat and he lost his senses. He said they ordered him to surrender his phone to them and the phone was programmed to reject incoming calls, except the only line they were demanding ransom through.
โThat they collected the money in his possession and demanded more. He said he was taken to an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) point where they withdrew N10,000 from his account.
โThey demanded N30million to be paid into the victimโs bankโs account as ransom. The victim has since been reunited with his family,โ Elkana said.
Asked where the suspects were, Elkana said they had been charged to court and were remanded in prison custody.
