Zone 2 Police Arrest Suspects, Rescue Victims
64-year-old Ghanaian man, Kwasi Samuel, has exhibited the natural insatiable nature of human beings in relation to their wants, so much so that after meeting his basic necessities of life - feeding and shelter - classified as basic needs in economics theory, like Oliver Twist, he still longed for more at the expense of his mistress.
Kwasi was employed as a driver by a Lagos-based female socialite (name withheld) in October, 2022, and was treated like a member of the family, housed in a well-furnished boys quarters of the building, located at the Millionaire Estate, Oniru in Ikoyi, Lagos.
He spent the week, from Monday to Saturday, in the house, and later, same Saturday, usually joined his wife at his rented apartment at 26, Shyllon Street in the Ilupeju area of Palmgrove, to be back on Sunday evening.
His monthly salary was paid as at when due, even as his medical bills were defrayed by his employer.
Despite all these privileges, Kwasi was discontented and became envious of his mistress, so much so that he engaged two young men, Freeman Ekpebo, 23, and Monday Nnachukwu, 24, for the kidnapping of his employer's 10-year-old son and the housemaid.
Having successfully accomplished their wicked act on March 26, the gang took the victims to Ijanikin on the Lagos/Badagry Expressway and, thereafter, reached out to Kwasi's employer and made a demand of N150m ransom.
The distraught woman, in a report made at the Zone 2 Police Command in Onikan, Lagos, stated that her son, driver and housemaid were kidnapped, a case that later turned out to have been masterminded by the driver, Kwasi.
HOW THE RING WAS BUSTED
On the strength of the report, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, AIG Olatoye Durosinmi, instructed the Zonal Monitoring Unit (ZMU), headed by result-oriented CSP Tijani Taofiq, to go all out and rescue the victims.
Durosinmi did not stop at that; he ordered that all suspects connected to the the heinous crime be apprehended and made to face the full wrath of the law, to serve as a deterrent to others in the criminal business of kidnapping.
Acting on the instruction of the AIG, Tijani assembled his team of notable crack detectives, amongst whom were DSP Akeem Adeyemi, Inspector Femi Akinjogunola and others, whose record of achievements in the area of anti-kidnapping, armed robbery and cultism, in the days of the FSARS, Abeokuta, Ogun State, speak volumes.
Tijani, a seasoned crime buster, swiftly and meticulously leveraged on advanced tracking techniques and intelligence gathering, and located the kidnappers' hideout in the Aiyetoro area of Ijanikin on the Lagos/Badagry Expressway.
The team first swooped on Nnachukwu Monday at Cozzy Hotel, Ijanikin, on March 28, at about 3:40pm, where he had held the kidnapped underaged boy and the maid hostage, and successfully rescued the victims.
Tijani and his men, thereafter went after the two other gang members, Kwasi - the driver- and Freeman and apprehended at Sun Era Hotel, Ijanikin, where they were allegedly waiting to receive the ransom.
Kwasi was met eating bread and held a bottle of mineral with one hand when the operatives got hold of him.
However, a twist was introduced into the scenario, pitching the duo of Nnachukwu and Freeman against Kwasi, who claimed he was also a victim of the kidnap.
FREEMAN EKPOBO'S ACCOUNT
Kwasi is my sister's man friend, with whom I worked at a company in Agbara for four years. Last year November, he called me to join him at Agbara, to sign a contract. There he narrated how his madam was maltreating him by defaulting in salary payment.
He then sold a kidnapping dummy to me, of which I told him I have never done before. He said he would perfect every act, and commissioned me to get one more person. At that instance, I informed Monday Nnachukwu, with whom I stay at Aiyetoro in Ijanikin. Monday also said he had never been involved in kidnapping. But Mr. Sam still assured us that he would plan everything.
After that, I didn't hear from him again, not knowing that he had already planned with some other people who collected money from him and reneged. In March, this year, he called and started begging that we should meet him at Agbara. We met and he gave us N5,000, and pleaded with us to meet him at CMS on Tuesday, March 26, where he would pick us in a car.
Before he got to us, he had already disconnected the car tracker, and then took us to where the disconnection was done, to confirm that the tracker had actually been deactivated. He then took us to Ikoyi at about 12:10pm and showed us where to wait. He told me that, on approaching us he would call my telephone number and directed me not to pick the call, adding that he would also flash the car headlamp repeatedly, so as for us to know he was the one.
He equally said that he would have centrally unlocked the car, for our easy accessibility into it. He also said that we should be asking after madam, when we board.
Following the directive he already gave us, I acted as if ordering him, and told him to head towards Badagry Road. We went to drop Monday Nnachukwu and the victims at Cozy Hotel, while Kwasi and I went to lodge in another hotel. The following morning, Kwasi gave me his madam's number, and asked me to call her, to tell her to send money to us for the feeding of the victims. She sent N20,000.
At about 7:00pm on March 27, I called madam and demanded for N150m ransom, and later reduced it to N100m. She said she could only afford N5m, and promised to call back four hours later. At the appointed time, he called again, and she raised it to N10m. But Kwasi insisted that we should not mind her, saying she is stinkingly rich and can afford the money.
Kwasi then advised that we should not call her for the next two days, by then, he said, the madam would have been pressed to come to our level. At that time, we had no money left on us to feed the victims, so Kwasi suggested that we should sell the male victim's laptop. We took it to Alabama International Market, where we sold it for N50k, and we bought rice and mineral for the victims. The remaining N45k was still with me at the time of our arrest
AIG DUROSINMI's REACTION
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, AIG Olatoye Durosinmi, has commended officers of the ZMU for their swift response to the distress call, while also appreciating the community for their cooperation and vigilance.
The police boss has, however, urged parents and guardians to be cautious and conduct thorough background checks when employing domestic staff.
He said "The Zone 2 Police Command remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all residents of Lagos and Ogun states".
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