Togolese, Chadian caught while attempting to kidnap girl in Lagos

Punch reports that the duo had connived with Peter Okechwukwu, a security man guarding the home of the businessman, Mike Ogbuachara, to abduct his 15-year-old daughter in the Ilasamaja area of the state but they were arrested while still perfecting their plans.

The suspects were arrested by operatives attached to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos, while plotting to kidnap the girl.

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It was gathered that Dado, a 26-year-old mother of two, had contacted Mohammed, a factory worker in Ogbuachara's sachet water company on the deal and Mohammed in turn, co-opted Okechwkwu into the plot.

The gang had reportedly planned to demand N10 million as ransom from the businessman for the return of his daughter but Okechukwu was said to have leaked the secret to his boss, who alerted the police.

The two suspects who were paraded before journalists at the Zone 2 Command headquarters, were said to have confessed to the plan.

Okechukwu narrated that Dado had promised to give him N2 million if the plan succeeded.

“Dado came to meet me on March 8, 2017 and asked if I was close to my boss’ daughter and I said yes. She said she had a business for me and asked if I was ready for it.

She said she would come back the following day so we could discuss the business. The following day, she said she wanted us to kidnap my boss’ daughter.

She said she planned to demand N10 million as ransom and if my boss refused to pay the money, we would kill the girl and sell her body parts.

Because I was not comfortable with the idea, I went to tell my boss and he asked me to play along and videotape the discussion.

I went back to meet her and agreed to the idea. When I asked what my share would be, she said she had a gang and we would be five.

She said we would share the money N2 million each. I told her to introduce me to other members. She said one of them was working with my boss in the factory.

She didn’t tell me his name. She promised to call me later so we could all meet in a hotel to perfect the plan.”

Okechukwu who said that he continued to update his boss every time he spoke with Dado, added that he was surprised when the suspect suddenly cut off communication with him.

“I went to see her and asked about the meeting. She began to threaten me, saying if I ever leaked the secret, she would kill me. I was scared,” he added.

The guard said he started monitoring the moves of Dado who lived beside the factory, adding that he advised his boss to report to the police before it was too late.

While confessing to the crime, Mohammed said he was deceived by Dado because they both were of Togolese descent.

“My mother is a Togolese, while my father is a Chadian. I met Dado after joining the factory three months ago.

We only talk once in a while. She called me sometime in March and said she wanted us to kidnap my boss’ daughter.

She said I should not bother myself much because she would arrange two other boys to join us and after doing the business, we could return to Togo to enjoy our loot.

She said each of us would get N2.5 million. She promised to involve the factory’s security man. I did not see her again until I was arrested.”

The prime suspect, Dado, however, denied the allegations, saying Mohammed was the leader of the gang.

“Mohammed came to meet me and said they delivered over N800,000 to his boss every day and asked if the man would feel any pain if we removed N10 million from his account. I said I did not know.

He suggested that we should kidnap the man’s daughter and I agreed. He promised to arrange boys to do the job. I went to meet the security man to seek his opinion and he agreed to join us.

When Mohammed learned that I had informed the security man, he became angry and said the man didn’t know how to keep secrets.

I am a hairdresser and I had planned to start a business with my share of the ransom money.”

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Confirming the arrest of the suspects, the spokesperson for the Zone 2 Police Command, SP Dolapo Badmos, said investigations revealed that Dado was the leader of the gang.

“It is a case of attempted kidnap. While Mohammed is a Chadian, Dado, the brains behind the kidnap, is from Togo. Mohammed lied that he was a Nigerian and used fake names until his real identity was uncovered."

SP Badmos added that the AIG in charge of Zone 2, Kayode Aderanti, has ordered that discreet investigation be done to get to the root of the matter and arrest the sponsors and other members of the gang.