Kidnap victim’s brother raises the alarm as police confirm attack on Lagos

An X user, Adewale (@SoEdunOkanESita), has raised the alarm over the abduction of his younger sister.

He said the kidnappers are demanding a N100 million ransom after taking her while she was travelling to Abuja.

In a series of posts shared on Friday, 17 April, Adewale said his sister was kidnapped on Monday, 13 April, while en route from Ogun State to the Federal Capital Territory to resume work.

He said the family had no immediate details of the incident until the victim briefly contacted them in the early hours of Wednesday.

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“She reached us briefly around 12.a.m. Wednesday, 15 April, that she has been kidnapped since on Monday without details of who kidnapped her, why, and where she is before the phone was taken from her,” he wrote.

According to him, the suspected kidnappers have since established contact with the family, demanding N100 million for her release.

“They are calling me… demanding N100 million naira. Where do I raise N100 million? I can’t even raise N100,000,” he added, noting that the callers used a registered phone line.

The victim’s brother also criticised the police response, saying he reported the case at multiple stations in Lagos and Ogun states but was told that little could be done without precise information on the victim’s location.

He said that his attempt to escalate the matter to the Force Public Relations Officer yielded no result.

“I have been to three different police stations. One in Lagos and the two at Mowe and Redeem Police stations. Police have no tracking system and that since there is no information about location, police said they can’t work.

“I called police national PPRO. He said I should go and report at the nearest police station and ended the call. He did not pick calls again until now,” he said.

However, the Nigeria Police Force in Ogun State responded to his post, with the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, stating that the Commissioner of Police had directed the Anti-Kidnapping Unit to take over the case.

“We acknowledge your message and the Commissioner of police, Ogun state Command has immediately directed the Anti-kidnapping Unit to step into the situation, please provide details within your reach in my DM,” the police spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the Kogi State Police Command confirmed that a kidnapping incident occurred on the same date along the Ayere–Kabba Road in Kabba Local Government Area.

In a statement issued on 16 April by the command’s spokesperson, Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an assistant superintendent police, said a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to Chisco Transport Company, travelling from Lagos to Abuja, was attacked by armed men at about 8:30 p.m. on 13 April.

The police said one passenger, identified as Adoun Julius, 56, was rescued during a joint security operation, while the vehicle was recovered.

“Efforts have been intensified to secure the release of the remaining abducted passengers, with sustained bush-combing and search-and-rescue operations currently ongoing,” the statement said.

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The command added that seven suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident and are assisting ongoing investigations.

Authorities urged relatives of missing passengers to report to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) headquarters in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, for identification and further inquiries.

It remains unclear if Adewale’s sister was among the passengers abducted in the Kogi attack, but his preliminary findings suggested the incident may have occurred in the Kabba area.

Kidnapping for ransom remains a major security challenge in Nigeria, particularly along highways linking major cities, with several recent incidents involving commercial vehicles travelling between the South-west and the Federal Capital Territory.