How Fashola forced me into crime –kidnapper

One of the arrested members of a five-man gang group who kidnapped a four-year-old boy, Alonge Oluwa Tumishe, on his way to school at Ishaga area of Lagos State, in 2013, claims that the ex governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola forced him into crime.

The suspect, Ifeanyi Obi who is a native of Abia State, said he became frustrated and was pushed into crime, after his shop at Ladipo Spare Parts Market was demolished by the Fashola government in 2012.

The 32-year-old said it was while he was wallowing in frustration that he met one of his gang members known as Paul who led him into kidnapping.

“I am not married. I came to Lagos in 2008. I am not educated. I am from a very poor family. After serving my boss for seven years at Ladipo, my boss settled me with his shop and some money. From there, I started doing my own business.

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“On December 28, 2012 I was at my village and I got news that former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola had broken our shops. When I returned to Lagos, I couldn’t find any of my goods. A few days later, one of my customers called me to bring a spare part for him at Abattoir, opposite an RRS base from where he took me to the shop of a Mopol man’s wife and he introduced him to me and we became friends.

“I told him that I wanted to sell my SUV and I needed money to start afresh and that I had lost all my money in my shop when it was demolished because I stocked my shop before traveling for Christmas. He told me that there was job that would pay me good money. He told me that the man was very rich and would easily pay. After the ransom was paid, I was given N700,000 as my share.”

But luck ran out for Ifeanyi and two of his other gang members identified as Paul Ibara and Tunde Edu when operatives at the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, SIRT, trailed the suspects to their hideout in Ishaga, Agege area of Lagos State.

The trio were arrested for the kidnapping of the 4-year-old boy (whose relations own a popular school in Ishaga) who was taken to Abeokuta, Ogun State by the gang and received a ransom of N5 million before he was released.

Two other members of the five-man gang are said to be at-large.

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