Nigeria’s Unemployed Graduates Turn Kidnappers

The-suspected-graduate-kidnappers-and-their-accomplice

Two unemployed university graduates have been arrested by the police over their alleged involvement in kidnapping in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
The suspects were yesterday paraded by the police along with their accomplice for allegedly kidnapping three kids and collecting ransom from their parents.

The suspects identified as Gbenga Sholaja, 31, Samson Shomorin, 29, and Olalekan Faniran Benjamin, allegedly kidnap school children by luring them with petty gifts.
Two of the suspects, Gbenga Sholaja and  Samson Shomorin, claimed to be graduates of Accounting, and Political Science, respectively, from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria.
Samson, while lamenting his ordeal when they were paraded Wednesday at the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, said he is ashamed to have been caught over N20,000  ransom they were trying to collect from the parents of their last victim, a pupil of Golden Triangle College, Kola, Alagbado, Lagos.

“I am ashamed that I am involved in this. My inability to secure a job after graduating in 2011 with Gbenga caused it. I have learnt my lessons,” Samson said.
According to the police, Benjamin was arrested after a tip-off,  at  12, Olowojeunjeje Street, Egan in Igando.
Further investigation by the State Anti-Robbery Squad led to the arrest of Gbenga in Alagbado and Samson in Owode Ijako in Ogun State.
The suspects allegedly confessed that they had kidnapped three children, one from Omole Phase 1 near Ojodu, who was lured with a computer laptop.

According to Samson,” it is Gbenga who used to call the boy whenever he is coming from school to help him with his laptop. So when the boy became familiar with us, we took him and asked his parents to pay N100, 000.”
The police said the suspects will soon be charged to court after the conclusion of their investigations.

October 10, 2013