‘I Needed Money for Wedding’ – Police Arrest Three Over N21m Kidnap Ransom in Lagos

They came from Agadagba community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State. Not to trade. Not to visit. They came to Lagos to kidnap. And as you read this piece, the Lagos State Police Command has apprehended three members of a cross-state kidnapping syndicate that abducted a businesswoman in the Ijedodo area of Lagos State, collected N21 million as ransom before her release. The suspects—Semi Buawe, 35; Oluwatomi Obosi, 37; and Bamure Telemowei—were traced to their hideout in Agadagba community, Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, by operatives of the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit. The gang’s leader, identified only as ID, was said to still be at large and alleged to be connected to kidnapping incidents across multiple states, police sources said.

According to police investigations, the gang planned its operations in Ondo State, travelled to Lagos for the abduction in April 2026, and returned to the same Ondo community immediately after collecting the ransom. Police said this pattern highlights the increasingly cross-border nature of kidnapping in the South-West. The victim, whose identity has been withheld, was held captive for three days in a bush in the Ijedodo area before her family paid the ransom. The ransom package was unusual: the family paid N21 million in cash, along with a bottle of Eagle Schnapps, a power bank, and one kilogramme of frozen turkey. When the gang ran out of food during captivity, they allegedly used the victim’s phone to transfer N150,000 to a POS operator around Ijedodo and collected it in cash. Buawe told investigators that the victim initially refused to eat any food provided by her captors. “On the third day, she agreed to eat biscuit and that was the only thing she ate in three days”. The victim’s family initially offered N16 million as ransom, but the gang leader, ID, rejected it and continued negotiations until N21 million was agreed upon. The ransom was reportedly collected in dollars.

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Speaking after his arrest, 35-year-old Buawe, a sawmill worker by trade, admitted participating in the abduction. He revealed that he had been involved in kidnapping since 2010 but had attempted to leave the trade. “I am an indigene of Agadagba in the Ese-Odo Local Government area of Ondo State. I worked at a saw mill in Ondo State. I was staying in Lagos before but I returned to my hometown to be doing business there”. “I have been into kidnapping since 2010 but ID and I were not in the same gang. He came to me in April that he had a job in Lagos and that he wanted me to be part of the operation. Initially, I declined because I had decided that I wanted to quit kidnapping. He kept calling and begging me. Later he brought some of his friends to beg me and I agreed to join them. They said they needed my experience of the knowledge of Lagos, since I have lived in Lagos”.

The gang had no specific target when they arrived in Lagos. ID instructed them to go to Ijedodo to look for any rich man. “We were walking, when ID suddenly stopped in front of a very beautiful duplex. He concluded that the owner of the house must be very rich. He went inside the house with one other member of the gang, Alfred, while Oluwatomi and I watched over the environment. Later he came out with a woman and we headed straight into the bush in the same area”. When the woman started shouting for help, a passerby tried to intervene, but ID brought out a gun and shot into the air, forcing the man to retreat. Buawe admitted that he was almost running away but ID cautioned him. Buawe said he received N1.5 million from the ransom and collected one of the victim’s two phones. “I did not even use the money for any tangible thing because the amount was small”. He later fell out with the gang leader after they returned to Ondo State. He gave the victim’s phone to a Hausa bureau de change operator who is yet to pay him, he said in regret.

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For the second suspect, Oluwatomi Obosi, his descent into the underworld began not with a gun, but with a mother’s prayer and a grandfather’s advice—a desperate quest for love that led him straight into a kidnapper’s den. With a voice heavy with regret, 37-year-old Tommy, as he is fondly called, said his mother advised him to be serious with relationships and marry. His grandfather reinforced the message, urging him to return to their hometown in Agadagba, Ondo State, to look for a decent girl and raise money for a proper marriage. In Agadagba, Tommy found a lady and proposed, but she insisted he must first secure the consent of her elder sister—a condition that would prove catastrophic. “It was in the process that I was introduced to ID, who was the leader of our gang. He was the husband of my girlfriend’s sister. When ID discovered I lived in Lagos, he told me about the kidnapping plan. He said he wanted me to be translating Yoruba language to other members of the gang, whenever the gang abducted a Yoruba victim. I only agreed to follow them for the operation because I needed money to marry as soon as possible”. Obosi received N2.5 million, which he believed was enough to start his new life. However, ID later collected N200,000 from each gang member after they returned to Agadagba. Today, the man who only wanted to make his mother proud and honour his grandfather’s wish sits in a police cell, his dreams of marriage shattered and his future uncertain.

Confirming the arrests, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the command had intensified efforts to apprehend the fleeing gang leader. The suspects, she added, were currently in police custody and would be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations. The police urged members of the public with useful information about the fleeing gang leader, ID, to report to the nearest police station. “There will be no hiding space for criminals in Lagos State,” Adebisi said.

‘I Needed Money for Wedding’ – Police Arrest Three Over N21m Kidnap Ransom in Lagos