Kayode Olafisoye, a 43-year-old suspected member of a kidnap syndicate, has narrated how himself and his fleeing partner, Kayode Akinola, kidnap children in Lagos and take them to Ibadan, Oyo State to be used for ritual.
Olafisoye was arrested when he tried to abduct a child at Mind Builders Private School, in the Omole Estate, Lagos at about 8 am on Monday.
It was gathered that a parent brought her four-year-old son to school in a car, at about 8.30 am and immediately the door of the car was opened to allow the child out, the kidnappers went for him, but the mother fought them off and raised an alarm, which alerted the neighbourhood and Olafisoye apprehended while his partner managed to escape.
A liquid substance, which he said was administered on their victims to put them to sleep, was recovered from him.
Shortly before he was handed over to the Police at Ojudu Division, the suspect revealed that he had been in the business of kidnapping pupils in different parts of Lagos for a long time.
Speaking in Yoruba language, Olafisoye said: “We came from Ibadan. I can’t tell how many children we have kidnapped in Lagos.
“Some of the areas in Lagos where we have kidnapped children are Berger, Ikotun, Iyana-Oba, Iyana-Ipaja. I cannot remember other areas.
“This is the first time we are coming to Omole Estate. “Whenever we kidnap these children, we would give them a tablet that would daze them.
“We also give them this liquid substance (pointing to the black substance inside the bottle found on him). It is gutter water. It puts them to sleep. We don’t have any particular child in mind.
“Immediately we find a soft target, we would put them inside our car and zoom off. Our targets are usually children between four and seven years, who are not able to shout for help. These children are used for rituals in Ibadan.”
The Spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the arrest, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alabi has directed that the suspect be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Yaba for further investigation, adding that efforts were on to arrest the fleeing member.
