Company Driver Initiates Abduction Of His Boses, N4m Collected As Ransom

A certain Yinka Adebanjo, official driver to a company has confessed to orchestrating the kidnap of his bosses in the Odogunyan, Ikorodu area of Lagos State. Adebanjo, aka Esho, who works at Mateco Industry West Africa Limited, where the victims, Jamie Larcar and Mario Maglundo (Filipinos) worked reportedly connived with an herbalist, Ishau Awokoya, and one Seun Ogunjobi, to abduct the expatriates.

According to Punch Metro, the suspects, who are members of a seven-man gang, pretended to be vigilantes guarding some Ikorodu communities against members of the dreaded Badoo cult then laid in ambush for the Filipinos, who were in a Jeep driven by Adebanjo. “They took the victims to the herbalist’s house in Iperu-Remo, Ogun State, on July 5, 2017, and kept them for nine days. The victims were released after collecting the sum of N4m as ransom. While they held the victims hostage, they removed their (abductees) SIM cards from their phones,” a police source said.

Following their release, a team of the Anti-kidnapping unit of the state police command tracked down the driver to Ikotun, Lagos, an arrest which led to other members of the gang. Adebanjo confessed to providing information that led to the abduction of his bosses, adding that he got N400,000 from the N4m ransom. He said, “I was a driver in the construction company where the Filipinos work. I was attached to them by the management. Because I drove them frequently, I knew their movements. I provided the gang with information. I got N400,000 as my share of the N4m paid as ransom.” The 32-year-old herbalist said he was not involved in the operation.