Secondary school leaver abducts Lagos pupil, collects N550,000 ransom, claims he learned how to kidnap by watching Nollywood super star Zubby

A kidnap suspect, Ayobamidele Ayodele, has been apprehended by the police for the alleged abduction of a six-year-old pupil of a private school in the Ojo Alaba area of Lagos, Ebube Eze.

Ayodele, who reportedly collected N550,000 ransom from the victim’s family, was said to have been tracked down in his father’s residence at Mowe, Ogun State, days after he released the boy, News men learnt that 23-year-old Ayodele went to the school around 9am on November 6, 2020 and posed as a parent trying to make enquiries on requirements for enrolling a child in the school.

While he was waiting at the school gate, he reportedly beckoned Ebube and tricked him into following him somewhere on a motorcycle.

It was gathered that the suspect contacted a teacher in the school whose phone number he collected in the course of making the enquiry and demanded to speak to Ebube’s father.

After the boy was released, the father, Afam Eze, reportedly petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Baba Usman, attaching the abductor’s phone number. The case was consequently referred to the Force Intelligence Response Team led by DCP Tunji Disu.

Afam, who resides at Ojo Alaba, told the police that the abductor called him and demanded N200,000, adding that he negotiated and paid N150,000 into a bank account with the name Ayobami Kudus Ayodele.

He said he and some members of the family were waiting at Ajangbadi junction where the suspect had promised to release Ebube when he received another call from Ayodele, demanding N2m with a warning that he should pay the ransom on time if he wanted to see his son alive.

After negotiating for four days, the family reportedly transferred N400.000 to two bank accounts provided by the suspect and Ebube was released.

Our correspondent learnt that Afam, who added Ayodele’s number to his WhatsApp’s contacts, saw a photograph on his (the suspect’s) display picture section and showed his son, who confirmed the image was that of his abductor.

“The IRT detectives at the South-West annex were able to track down the suspect in his father’s house at Mowe. He confessed to the crime and took police to the lounge where he kept the boy for four days. The lounge manager said they were worried when he stayed with the boy for days but he claimed that he was the father of the child,” a police source said.

Ayodele, a secondary school leaver, told the police that he learned kidnapping in Nigerian movies, claiming that he lured Ebube out of the school on the pretext that he would buy him gifts.

His words: “I am 23 and I attended Adeso Community High School in Ogun State. I am very intelligent and I did very well as a science student.

“Unfortunately, life became so hard that my family had to move into one village in Mowe where we got an affordable accommodation. I started by hustling at Alaba International Market to survive. I will attract customers and I will be given commission.

“Zubi Michael is my favourite Nollywood actor and he is good at kidnapping scenes. I am from a responsible family and if I try to do anything with others, I might be caught. So, I decided to try out some of the methods used by Zubi to kidnap children and adults in the movies.

I started by visiting several schools around Ojo to see the possibility of picking children without anyone noticing. I decided to try my luck on November 6. I visited one school that is close to Alaba International market and stayed by the gate. I saw a teacher passing by and he asked me what I was doing there. I was about to tell her that I wanted to make inquires about the school but she immediately asked if I was there to register my child in school. I said yes and she told me to hold on that the children were writing their exams.

“She came out few minutes after and gave me a form. She also gave me her phone number and asked me to return with the child in January. As soon as she left, I waited around a bit and noticed two kids coming to school. The boy was holding a cane, I stopped him and chatted them. I took the cane from the boy and asked him to tell me where he bought it. He said that it was on their way. I asked him to go and drop his bag and come back and show me the place. I whispered into his ears that I was going to buy plenty things for him. I told him not to tell the sister and he agreed. He went inside dropped his bag and came out.”

He convinced little Ebube to board a bike to the place where the cane is sold. “He was happy to climb on a bike with me and we drove straight to Alabarago junction. I gave him my phone that had a lot of games in it and he was so excited. I immediately called that teacher and told her that I abducted one of their students. I asked for N200,000 ransom and they begged to pay N150,000. I sent an Access wallet account number to the father of the child and he did not waste time and paid the money. I felt that I could get more money from the family since N150,000 was very easy for them to pay.

“I took the boy to another area called Magbo and called the father requesting for N2million naira. I bought ice cream, chicken and plenty things for the boy and assured him that I would take him back to school. I told him to call me daddy as that was my name.

“To avoid drawing attention to myself, I took him to Saudlat Lounge at One Love Unity Estate, off Igbanla, Idi Agbalumo, Ilogbo Eremi, Lagos. The receptionist asked if this was my son and I said yes. She was also convinced when the boy called me daddy. We took a room and I paid N5000 per night.

“We spent four days there before the family was able to raise N400,000. The boy stayed calm except once when he told me that his mummy would be angry that he came home late. I assured him that it was his parents that asked me to take him along. I made sure he had access to my phone and played all the available games. He did not leave the room for the four days and the hotel management did not notice that he was only wearing his school uniform.”

Begging for mercy, Ayodele swore that this was the first time he had succeeded in kidnapping a child. “I am so sorry that I caused the family so much pain. I am not a cultist or an armed robber. I do not have a gang. I just trained myself by watching Zubi Michael. My parents trained me very well, I was just impatient and greedy. I am really sorry.”

He claimed that the National Identity Card bore a different name because he needed another identity to open another bank account for future use. “The identity card is not fake. I just secured it in case banks block my account.”