A gang of audacious abductors who earned notoriety for terrorizing the city of Lagos having operated without apprehension for over a year have been nabbed and killed.
The kidnappers somewhat aped the high-profile kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans who was arrested in 2017 following seven years of abductions across the country—extorting millions of nairas and dollars in ransoms in several instances carrying out the gruesome murder of his victims.
The recently neutralized gang was adept in targeting victims profiled as ultra-rich demanding and extorting ransoms in both naira and dollars. They often operated around Ago Palace Way, Isolo, Okota, Ladipo (the popular auto parts market), Festac town, and other areas.
Police sources said they often absconded with victims via the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, meandering through the high traffic Second Rainbow Bus stop and Apple Junction to a yet undetermined enclave where they negotiated ransoms before relocating out of the city.
They were said to often insist not less less than N1 billion as ransom or kill the victim, and will threaten to kill their victims should information be leaked to the police.
However, this band of kidnappers were nabbed last week in the Ladipo area of Lagos State after attempting to abduct an international businessman said to be quite wealthy. Their nefarious activity was foiled by a special squad of policemen who enageged and killed nine of them.
The police recovered four AK-47 rifles, four locally-made semi-automatic pistols, nine AK47 magazines, three walkie-talkies, one POS machine and a loudspeaker. Two of their operational vehicles, a black Toyota 4Runner and a blue Lexus RX350, were also recovered.
However, two of the suspects narrowly escaped blending in with the large crowd keenly watching the shootout that ensued between the heavily armed kidnappers and the police.
The Trouncing of the Kidnappers
The neutralization of the kidnappers played out like a movie scene executed by detectives from Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja who were reportedly drilled and selected by the Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade.
They had embarked on the assignment after receiving intelligence reports about the deadly operations of the gang of kidnappers in and around Lagos for a while now. Interestingly, three commissioners of Police during their respective tenures in the state also raised police teams to confront and neutralise the same gang but did not succeed in apprehending them rather curtailing their activities.
Recorded Cases
Police records showed that the gang made up of trigger-happy shooters kidnapped a businessman on 10 April 2023, in the Ikotun area of the state around 4 pm and the victim paid $8000 as ransom. The gang which in most cases, carried out its operations with a Lexus 350 SUV and 4 Runner jeep kidnapped another businessman same date around 11.30 pm at Ago Okota using the same vehicles and later collected a ransom of N5m.
On 23 April 2023, the gang struck again and this time, they went for a popular millionaire who sells assorted drinks at Ago Okota and kidnapped him.
He reportedly paid not less than a billion naira, but the family hid it from the police on account of threats from the kidnappers. The same thing happened to another rich businessman at Ikotun the same day as they were fleeing from the scene with their victim. The businessman was returning from his farm in Ogun State when they accosted and kidnapped him.
They later collected ransom in three tranches of $6000 and $3,600. They wrapped up their operation that day by abducting another businessman man few metres from the same area in Ikotun and he paid N8m as ransom.
It was also gathered that on 18 August 2023, at Ago Palace Way, members of the gang kidnapped another businessman and collected N120m. The following day they struck at Gowon Estate and their victim paid an undisclosed huge amount of money before he was released.
Then, on 29 November of the same year around 8.45 pm, they kidnapped another businessman at Apple Junction and collected N6m as ransom. Three days later, they abducted another businessman at Ikotun with the same operational vehicles and collected a ransom of N24m.
From there, they moved to Isolo and abducted another victim who reportedly paid a huge amount of money as ransom.
During the Yultide season of that year, they operated at the popular Ladipo auto parts market and collected N100 million from their male victim. The gang opened the New Year in 2024 by striking at Ikotun and collecting N120m from their victim.
Notably, while they were freely carrying out their operations, the police were on their trail and all efforts made to round them up failed. However, police sources said they continued to follow up on their trail and they discovered that they always carry out operations with a Toyota 4Runner Jeep and a Lexus 350 SUV.
It was also discovered that they always carried out their operations dressed in camouflage military uniform, and once they picked their victims, they took them out of Lagos and when they wanted to release them after payment of ransom, they dropped them at any point in Ogun State or in some cases at Governor’s Road, Ikotun.
Sources said that this trend continued and police were oblivious to their operations until an intelligence report informed detectives that the gang that left Lagos a long time ago was back and was using the same vehicles.
The source said they thought the coast was clear for them to operate after disappearing from Lagos for awhile. Their last criminal endeavours occurred at the ever-busy Ojekunle street inside Ladipo market where they had perfected plans to kidnap a very rich businessman in the market with the hope of collecting not less than N1b from him.
It was gathered a friend of the rich businessman was earlier kidnapped and he paid a huge amount of money. He reportedly confided in his friend that they were also planning to abduct him and their target is N1 billion.
Based on intelligence information, it was gathered that the commissioner of Police personally mobilised specially trained operatives with skills in operational shooting and detailed the officer in charge of his special squad, CSP Kehinde Oni, to swing into action and engage the kidnappers with frontal tactics, banking on the concept of Silence, Speed and Surprise (SSS).
The Finale
Sources said the kidnappers arrived at the venue of where they met their end in their usual vehicles and on seeing a decoy placed by the detectives, they started shooting frantically, not knowing that the whole area was cordoned off by heavily armed policemen. The first shot they fired, according to sources, made detectives to identify them with their vehicles and a shootout that lasted for over three hours ensued.
The intense shooting saw nine of the kidnappers neutralised while two escaped with bullet wounds by disappearing into the crowd. Reports said detectives avoided gunning the fleeing gang members so as not to hit the wrong targets. Bullets from the kidnappers’ weapons hit the engine of one police vehicle and also hit a policeman in the jaw. He had since been treated and discharged.
So far, detectives are on the trail of other fleeing members of the gang and they have concluded plans to raid their hideouts, including the homes of their dead kingpin whom information revealed was married to four wives and built mansions for them in one of the states in the South-Eastern part of the country.
