Abducted Lagos teachers, students: Kidnappers demand N120m ransom

KIDNAPPERS of two teachers and four students of Lagos State Junior and Senior Model College, Igbonla in the Epe area of Lagos State have opened a line of communication with family members of the kidnapped persons demanding a ransom of N20 million per head.

A reliable security source told Saturday Tribune Friday night that while the kidnappers had called the families and made their demands known, security forces had intensified efforts to locate the abducted persons.

The source did not give further details on the demand of the kidnappers beyond their request for N20 million ransom per head. Two teachers and four students were abducted in the school on Thursday morning.
The police in the state have linked the abduction to members of a kidnap gang which has been operating in Ikorodu and Epe.

A police source who wanted anonymity told Saturday Tribune that: “There is no clue yet as to where the victims are. But on our own part, we have identified the group that perpetrated the act. We have arrested some of them in the past. It is still the same gang.”

There was also the report in the school that the abductors got in touch with some people early on Friday and assured them of the safety of the abducted teachers and students.

Meanwhile, members of a local vigilance group in the area, popularly known as Muwon, have joined in the search for the students and their teachers.
The members, dressed in brown uniform outfits, were seen on Friday with a patrol van moving around the school premises.

Members of the local security outfit were reportedly drafted to complement the efforts of the police, military and others who are working on the rescue of the victims.

“They (Muwon) were drafted because they are in charge of security in this area. They know the terrain more than the police and the SSS,” a resident around the school area said.
The PPRO, Lagos State police command, Dolapo Badmus, did not pick all calls placed by Saturday Tribune to her phone on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone Two, Abdulmajid Ali has urged the family members of the victims to remain clam while the police intensified efforts to rescue them.

The AIG who spoke through his zonal PPRO, Muyiwa Adejobi also said security had been fortified around the school and other vulnerable places while enough men had been deployed for the operations.
Source:Tribune