A 32-year-old kidnapper Ifeanyi Obi, a native of Abia State has accused former Lagos State Governor and current Minister for Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola of pushing him into crime.
Obi is one of the 3 members of a kidnapping gang arrested at their Lagos hideouts by operatives at the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, SIRT.
The arrest was in connection to the kidnap of a four-year-old boy, Alonge Oluwa Tumishe, who was abducted in January 2013 on his way to school at Ishaga area of Lagos State, by a five-man kidnap gang, who took him to Abeokuta, Ogun State and received a ransom of N5 million before he was released.
Obi stated that his shop at Ladipo Spare Parts Market was demolished by the Fashola government in 2012, and he became frustrated.
He lamented that his frustration led him to Paul who eventually led him to kidnapping. “I am not married. I came to Lagos in 2008. I am not educated. I am from a very poor family.
After serving my boss for seven years at Ladipo, my boss settled me with his shop and some money. From there, I started doing my own business.
“On December 28, 2012 I was at my village and I got news that former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola had broken our shops.
“When I returned to Lagos, I couldn’t find any of my goods. A few days later, one of my customers called me to bring a spare part for him at Abattoir, opposite an RRS base from where he took me to the shop of a Mopol man’s wife and he introduced him to me and we became friends.
“I told him that I wanted to sell my SUV and I needed money to start afresh and that I had lost all my money in my shop when it was demolished because I stocked my shop before travelling for Christmas.
“He told me that there was job that would pay me good money. He told me that the man was very rich and would easily pay. After the ransom was paid, I was given N700, 000 as my share.” Obi narrated.