With two pistols, Lagos police invade kidnappers’ den

Residents of Ebute Kekere Street in Igando area of Lagos State are still battling with the shocking busting of a notorious gang of kidnappers who had been terrorizing Lagos residents for a long time.

At 5pm, Olabode Olubayo heard rounds of gun fire from a building that was some few distance away from his house. He rushed out apprehensively only to be greeted by a team of plain policemen who were standing in front of a black coloured gate.

Out of curiosity, he moved closer to the gate, but a police officer who was standing at the gate made a hand signal, motioning for him to come forward. But on arriving the gate, he was shocked to find a haul of a large of large catch of ammunition stuffed in a boot of a car and subsequently three men who had been kidnapped were rescued from the house.

”It was like a joke when I saw them coming out and I could recognize one of them. He was the man we chose to be our harvest chairman in our church this year. I never knew kidnappers were in our midst.

But the policemen who busted the kidnappers may have embarked on a suicide mission. A police source who spoke with Crime Guard, said the officers invaded the kidnappers’ den with a very small cacheof ammunition.
authorized to speak to the press on the issue, said mobile policemen from Mopol 2, who carried out the rescue operation had just two pistols with them. “ I’m sure they weren’t expecting any form of resistance from the kidnappers.

I am sure they have been engrossed in the popular notion that kidnappers were often not properly armed. But they got exceedingly shocked when they discovered those caches of ammunition. I was told that the police officers who were in their small numbers invaded the kidnappers’ den with just two pistols. One of them even told me that they embarked on a suicide mission.



If the kidnappers had known the police was coming for them, they would have finished them. I was told that when the kidnappers learnt of the police arrival, some of them took to their heels by scaling through a fence behind their house but two others were arrested.”

According to reports, a catchment of weapons, including three rocket launchers with three rockets, eight AK 47 magazines with a total of 3,240 rounds of ammunition, four dynamites and assorted charms. Three abducted victims were also rescued from the building.

Two of the arrested kidnappers were later identified as Kenneth Okonkwo and the other Azubuike Okafor.


One of the rescued victims, Dr. Godwin Ene, 66, a surgeon, said he was on his way home from the office last Thursday, when a vehicle pulled up in front of his car, blindfolded him and was forced their vehicle. He said he was asked to pay a ransom of N600 million for his release, but he pleaded with them that he could only afford N30 million.

The second victim, Godwin Okonkwo, 56, who had spent about three weeks with the kidnappers, was said to have also been kidnapped on his way home from work on September 15, along Okokomaiko area of Lagos State, and was asked to pay a ransom of N150 million; while the third victim, Rodney Agaga, a US based Nigerian businessman, who had been in the kidnappers’ custody for five weeks, said on the day of his kidnap, the abductors shot at the tyres of his car, demobilized it before forcing him inside their vehicle. He said a ransom of N150 million was demanded from him.

On the path of the arrested suspects, Kenneth and Azubuike both blamed their involvement in the crime on one Obinna, who is still at large.

They both claimed to be errand boys for the gang. Kenneth said he was arrested on his way to collect N 2.8 million from the family of one of their victims, while Azubuike said his job was to cook for abducted victims and that the police arrested him while he was in the kitchen.
By Ifeanyi Okolie