Gunmen abduct man in Ibafo,demand N50m ransom

The apprehension over spate of recent insecurity in Ibafo, Ogun State, came alive at the weekend following the kidnap of a 35-year-old cinematographer, Joel Benson, who was abducted in his home.

The hoodlums invaded Benson’s home through one of the windows, which they vandalised and gained entrance into his bedroom. They immediately demanded for telephone handsets, laptops and money, which were instantly given to them. The kidnappers, feeling unsatisfied, then abducted the ‘man of the house’, Benson.

Speaking to The Guardian on telephone, his wife, Ego said the hoodlums had called demanding for N50 million ransom.

According to her, “they came in through the window. They took our telephones, laptops and iPad. They took some money but I don’t know how much they took. When they came in demanding for all these things, we thought they were armed robbers.

“They later asked to know who the man of the house was. My husband identified himself and they took him away. He was crying on the phone when I spoke with him. He told me to call anyone I knew to raise the money. They called in the morning and they also called at 2:20p.m. yesterday, demanding for N50 million ransom.”

The Ogun State police boss, Abdulmajid Ali, who is on a short vacation told The Guardian that his men had swung into action.

“We are working on it. The media needs to support us to clean up our neighbourhood of cult boys and hoodlums. Our detectives have been deployed and we are working with members of his family to ensure he is released without harm.”

Ogun State has, in recent times, been a hotbed of violence and bloodletting. Some suspected militants in a border community between Ogun and Lagos states killed no fewer than 20 persons two weeks ago.

Also, residents of the sleeping Ijon community, a border village between Ogun and Lagos, have been gripped by fear following the invasion of their village by daredevil kidnap kingpins.

An eight-man gang had in the wee hours of last Monday stormed the premises of Oluseun Oguyemi and abducted his wife and three children.

Ogunyemi, who escaped from the abductors, immediately contacted the traditional ruler of the community, who quickly alerted the police. The police reportedly swung into action and gave the hoodlums a hot chase before getting them near the river.

It was gathered that the hoodlums suspected to be a killer squad from a neighbouring village in Ogun State, engaged the police in a gun battle, which lasted for about 45 minutes. At the end of the war, the hoodlums abandoned their victims and escaped in a speedboat.

The fear of some residents is that the hoodlums may come back again since the police thwarted their first attempt.