Kidnapping rising in Lagos as couple details experience in abductors’ den

• Victims kidnapped in Ikorodu, N5m ransom collected in Ondo

The spate of kidnapping in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, has become increasingly alarming in recent times.

The social menace which had almost disappeared in the state has returned, with abduction cases being recorded in several parts of the mega city, Muslim News’ findings have revealed.

In the last one month, cases of kidnapping have been recorded in places such as Mushin, Ikorodu, Alimosho and Amuwo Odofin Local Government Areas of the state.

For instance, on Friday, December 15, many Nigerian media reported on their cover pages how a popular car dealer known as Ejike Conversion, in Ladipo spare parts market was abducted in front of his shop, with kidnappers demanding a huge ransom of 500 million naira.

Before then, Miracle Adereti Kolawole, a 13-year-old student, was abducted in the Ikotun area of Lagos by an unknown gang while returning home from school. Her father has been contacted by the criminal gang to secure the release of his daughter with a ransom.

In another dramatic case, the Muslim community in Igbe Lara area of ​​Igbogbo, Ikorodu was thrown into panic after a local Muslim scholar, Ustadh Mikail Tijani and his wife, Ruqoyyah Abdul Aziz, a trader, were kidnapped on their way home on Thursday, December 7.

Muslim News gathered that the couple, who were abducted for seven days in a swamp forest, later regained their freedom after paying a ransom of 5 million naira raised through donations coordinated by brethren in Islam.

Ustadh Tijani, who is also an e-cab driver, told Muslim News, in an exclusive interview, held on Saturday, December 16, how they languished in the den of kidnappers for seven days after they were abducted at gunpoint in the Alfa area, near Igbogbo community in Ikorodu.

Read the full interview below:

MN: When did it happen and how did it occur?

It happened on 7th December, 2023 in the night when we were commuting en route home from the Ketu area of Lagos. My wife’s shop is at Ketu. Usually, once we observe our Solatul Ishai (night prayer) at the shop, we will then go home.

We usually go home from her shop and arrive at our house around 9 pm. On this very day, we got to the kidnap point some minutes past 9 pm. Our house to the point of our kidnap should not be more than a 10-minute drive. So, we left Ketu and got to a canal point called “Alfa” at Igbe Lara.

To describe the kidnap point properly, it is a two or three-minute drive to Igbe Lara bus stop when coming from Igbogbo.

When I drove to the point, they suddenly came from nowhere and crossed the road with a log of wood. If I had tried to cross it, the vehicle could have somersaulted because I was driving a small car. I then tried to stop the car we were driving. Once the car stopped, they started shooting towards it. That’s how we got out of the car and started running away. Then about three of them grabbed me. My wife almost escaped but she was overpowered by one of them.

MN: Is that place (kidnap point) usually a quiet place?

That place is usually quiet, it is a place full of bushes and swamps. Although the government is building a bridge (a flyover) for the community around that place, it has been abandoned. But, once you leave the kidnap point, you will arrive at the Igbe Lara community, which is a big community.

MN: Please continue how the kidnap incident happened

They dragged us and we started walking for about four hours in the bush before we got to their den.

On the second day, we were asked to call our relatives to bail us out. They initially asked for N10 million naira but later reduced it to N5 million.

We were beaten several times a day. Especially within the first three days before they saw the green light that our people were already raising the ransom.

They didn’t give us food and water for three days. After the third day, they started giving us one boiled unripe plantain only at night for the rest of the time of our captivity.

MN: When you were about to leave your shop at Ketu on that fateful day, did you notice anything suspicious?

Usually, police officers are at that point of our kidnap to search vehicles daily, but on that day, there were no police officers on duty.

MN: After they kidnapped you, How did they introduce themselves to you?

They told us that they were kidnappers. That they are not ritualists. They told us to start calling our people to pay ransom.

MN: What language did they speaking? Were they Yoruba or which tribe?

No, they were not Yorubas. One of the words they spoke is “Owen” which means “my friend”. That language is an Edo dialect and some Itsekiri also speak that. Also, some parts of Delta speak that dialect. I memorized some of the languages they spoke and when I asked people after our freedom, they said it’s mostly the Ijaw people that speak that language.

MN: Do you remember any other words they spoke?

Other words they spoke are “itieno” and “Ogbenede”

MN: How many were they?

They were seven

MN: What type of guns did they use?

They did not have AK-47. They used local rifles and the bullets they had were cartridges.

MN: How and when did your people know that you were kidnapped with your wife?

They started looking for us that night. My last child was also in the car, but they didn’t kidnap him. It was the people who were sympathising with us that went to the car and met the child sleeping. They woke the child up and asked him which area he resided. The child replied “Saudi Mosque” in Igbe Lara. This is because our community is known to people by that name. Those who know “Saudi Mosque” called some people there and they described my car to them. They also mentioned my name which they got from my driver’s license. That’s how the people in my community knew that I was the victim.

MN: How old is your child who was in the car?

8 years old

MN: So how much was the ransom?

They initially asked for 10 million naira. We begged them to accept 2 million, but they refused. Then 2.5 million, still they refused. So, we paid 5 million naira.

MN: Tell us how your relatives raised the money and how did the kidnappers receive the ransom?

It was my brothers (in Islam) that raised the money. It was not easy. I had N600k in my account which does not belong to me. I sent it to the person coordinating the fundraising because they refused to collect it from me. They said they don’t want to receive the money through transfer, rather they want it in cash. One of our brothers, Abdulhameed was the one coordinating the donation of the ransom. As people sent money little by little to him, he collected it in cash.

When the money was completed on the 6th day. They asked him to bring the money to Ore (in Ondo state). Before he returns from Ore, we have already got home.

I know how difficult it was for them to raise the money, especially in this harsh economy. I am very grateful. My appreciation goes to the entire Muslim Ummah especially brethren in Igbe Lara, Ketu, and Kosofe for coming to our aid. Jazakumullahu khayran.

MN: How did Abdulhameed hand over the money to your captors?

They gave him lots of directions before he got to his destination. They wanted to be sure that he was unaccompanied in the car.

Because they had warned him that if he came in the company of other people, especially the police, in disguise, they will open fire on him and those who accompany him.

He said he noticed several power bikes passing by him on his way. He suspected that they were the ones monitoring him.

Later when he was about to get to Ore, they told him to turn back as if he is coming back to Lagos.

Then they instructed him to park in a filling station that looks uncompleted.

They told him to look right and that he would see a bamboo tree with a plastic object. He was then told to place the money there.

When he placed the money at the point they described, he reminded them that, since he had fulfilled his promise to them, they should also keep their promise of releasing me and my wife.

They replied that they would keep to their promise. That before he gets home, they would have released us and we would even got home before him.

MN: So did they confirm the money was complete before they released you?

No. Immediately he gave them the money, they contacted themselves through phones to release us. He handed over the money to them around 4:00 pm, and they also released us around 4:25 pm.

MN: So, how did they set you free?

Recall that we were in a thick swampy forest. Throughout the seven days of our captivity, we were blindfolded, but when they were about to release us, they removed the blindfolds. One of the kidnappers accompanied us till we got to where we could see rooftops of houses before he left us to go. He told us to continue our journey because they had paid our ransom. He then turned back. So, we walked for another hour or one hour thirty minutes before we got out.

Alhamdulilah, by the time we got out to a place called Alagemo, we met a Muslim brother who farms close to the swamp area. He was the one who welcomed us. We took our bath and changed our clothes there. He then helped to call some people to drive us out.

MN: Did you go to the hospital immediately after you got home?

We went directly to the hospital before we got home because they fed us with bad water. We were well-attended to at the hospital and no infection was diagnosed.

MN: During your captivity, did your relatives involve the police to secure your release?

Yes, they reported to the police. But, I noticed that those kidnappers were working together with some police officers. When we were with them in the forest, I heard them negotiating with some people (who I suspected to be police officers) over the phone on the sharing formula. They negotiated between 5% and 10%. They later agreed on 10% with them.

MN: Did you know any of the police stations they were working with?

No. I don’t know.

MN: When you got there, did you notice some other people that have been kidnapped?

No. We were the only ones with them in their camp. But, you know it’s a big thick swampy forest. I observed that there are other groups of kidnappers in the forest. They could be up to two or three other groups of kidnappers.

Why I said this is that on the third night of our captivity, I saw some group of people who came to our camp discussing with our group of kidnappers. I was able to remove my blindfold a bit to see those other groups. They looked bigger than our captors.

In addition, these people kidnap people randomly and the government needs to address this menace otherwise, a day will come when their children will be kidnapped too.

MN: All the times you spent at their den, what were the challenges you faced, especially your wife?

Well, one of the challenges we faced was that they beat my wife and they slapped her such that she is experiencing pain till this moment.

MN: So, what advice do you have for the government, especially the security agents?

My first advice is that they should strive to make the country’s economy good because many may not take to kidnapping if the country is good. I observed that out of the seven people that kidnapped us, four of them had a friendly attitude toward us. The other three were very unfriendly. Perhaps, if the country’s economy had been good, those four would not have become kidnappers.

MN: What did you notice in those four people’s attitudes?

What I noticed was that they were ready to offer assistance to us. So, they became kidnappers because of poverty. One of them narrated his story to me that he was at a time a prisoner for 10 years. He said he was convicted due to the crime of kidnapping and was only released due to the intervention of the Attorney General of Lagos two years ago. However, he was not able to secure a job for those two years even though he was a graduate. He added that he rejoined kidnapping gangs about six months ago because he could not fend for himself. He then concluded that it is better than being dead or continuing to languish in poverty. So, had it been this kidnapper was able to secure a job, he would not have ventured into kidnapping again.

My second advice is that people should avoid staying out late at night. I have made up my mind that once the time is past 7 pm, I will avoid going out. Had it been it was daylight, my wife and I would not have been attacked that way without people noticing.

Most of us work late in the night in a bid to make ends meet and grow our businesses. But, if we look at it, we might end up giving up this money to people like kidnappers if we don’t stop working late into the night. The Yoruba proverb reiterates this saying “eni abi ni Ile ire kan ko kin rin lo ru”.

My third piece of advice is that our government should strive to construct good roads because bad roads give opportunities to kidnappers and robbers to execute their actions. The road leading to Egbe was started during former governor Ambode’s administration but it was not completed during his time. When Gov Sanwo Olu got there, the road was completely abandoned such that we (residents of this area) suffered a lot due to this bad road. So, the government should complete this road to stem the tide of kidnapping and related crimes in this area. They should remember that If they don’t construct these roads, Almighty Allah will ask them on the Day of Judgement.

MN: I would like to ask how you managed to observe the daily Salawat (prayers)?

We had already prayed our solatul Ishai when we got there on the first day. On the next morning, you know we were seated on a wooden platform that was placed across a marshy land. I did my ablution using tayammum from the sand emanating from the decaying part of the wood. That’s how I observed all the prayers for that day. But, the following day, when I was observing a prayer, one of them (the kidnappers) asked me a question and I didn’t respond quickly as I was doing tashahud. He immediately hit me.

MN: Did the kidnappers remove the blindfolds in your face so you can perform prayers?

No. We were blindfolded throughout and I had to use my hand to navigate the wood to locate the sandy part for my tayammum.

Throughout the seven days we spent there, I didn’t miss my prayers. When I returned, I asked the Islamic scholars (about the acceptance of my prayers), and they said it would be accepted by Allah since we were in captivity.

Also, I didn’t leave my adkhar in the morning and evening. Also, I didn’t miss the recitation of the four Surahs I used to recite which are Surah Al Waqiah, Surah Al-Sajdah, Surah Al Ad-Dukhan and Surah Al Mulk.

Also, I couldn’t sleep all through my captivity (because we were seated all through), I only used to doze a bit.

MN: When we do adhkar in the morning, Allah will protect us till the evening and when we chant adkhar in the evening, we will be protected till the following day… Some people may wonder if it is that you didn’t do your adkhar that’s why you ended up with the kidnappers. Also, when one does his adhkar and such an incident still occurs to him, what is your belief in such an instance?

It’s indeed the Prophet’s sunnah that Allah will save one from such occurrence (when we do our adkhar). But, verses in the Qur’an confirmed to us that Allah appoints Angels over us to protect us till Allah’s qadar (destiny) comes. So, when qadar comes, the angels will not intervene. That’s my belief, that it is the qadar of Allah that I would be kidnapped. But, one’s experience could now be made lighter due to one’s closeness to Allah. If it occurred like that, we should know that it didn’t come from any other being except Allah.