Some residents of Lagos State have raised the alarm over the spike in cases of kidnappings in the state in recent times.
INTEGRITY NEWS learnt that the incidents had largely been recorded on the Mainland, particularly in the Alimosho and Amuwo Odofin Local Government Areas of the state.
It was also gathered that wealthy people were the soft targets for the abductors who demanded huge ransoms.
Checks by our correspondent on Thursday also revealed that the significant rise in the trend became noticeable in the areas around August.
The most recent, however, is the abduction of a car dealer popularly known as Ejike Conversion in the Ladipo Spare Parts Market on Saturday night.
Ejike was said to have been taking an inventory of his newly imported goods in front of his plaza around 12 am when some armed men swooped in on him and his workers.
While his workers fled for safety following the sound of gunshots, Ejike was not so lucky as the armed men attacked him, dragged him into their vehicle and drove off.
A trader and member of the Board of Trustees of the market, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the abduction on Thursday while noting that the development caught many traders in the market unawares.
“Yes, Ejike was kidnapped in the market on Saturday night. It is a surprise to many because it happened late in the night when almost every trader in the market had gone home at the end of business. The market closes daily at 6pm. He was abducted at his warehouse when he was taking delivery of his goods delivered from China very late in the night,” he said.
A source in the market who also spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, on Thursday, disclosed that the abductors had opened communication with the family as they demanded N500m.
The source said the family had since been negotiating for the reduction of the amount but they were yet to reach an agreement with the kidnappers.
“Ejike is still with the kidnappers. They are demanding N500m and the amount is too much. The family has been negotiating with them but they did not reduce the amount. They insisted on collecting the amount. He was kidnapped around 12 am in his office. The police had also been informed,” the source revealed.
In a similar development, a yet-to-be-identified businessman was allegedly kidnapped earlier this month in the Ago Palace area of the state while the kidnappers demanded a sum of N500m.
A project architect, Daario Naharis, while narrating his experience on Wednesday via his X handle (formerly Twitter), said he was almost abducted in the area in November where the abductors blocked his vehicle while in motion.
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