Abductors of 6 students of Lagos Model College demand N1bn ransom

Abductors of 6 students of Lagos Model College demand N1bn ransom

The kidnappers had gained entry into the school at about 6am on Thursday through Imeru/Iji waterways, purportedly bore a hole in the school fence, through which they gained entry into the premises initially kidnapping 10 students from their hostel.

However, the kidnappers later released four of the kidnapped students at a bush path leading to the abductors’ waiting boats, while six others (4 SS1 students and 2 JSS 1 students) were whisked into the kidnappers speed boats which sped off immediately.

Sources also revealed that the kidnappers had earlier attempted to carry out their operation on Wednesday night as they paraded the waterways for two weeks, showcasing their fire power but were foiled by policemen on standby.

According to a witness, “they attempted to scale the school fence on Friday night when private guards alerted policemen that were stationed around. The gun shots from the policemen scared them away”.

However, the kidnappers, numbering up to 15, who according to police were suspected to be members of a militant kidnap gang that had carried out several kidnappings, armed robbery and the killings of security agents around Lagos and Ogun state, finally had their way early, on Thursday morning.

The kidnappers of six Senior Secondary School students of Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, in Epe area are demanding the sum of N1billion for the release of the victims in their custody.

According to reports, some of the parents of the students were contacted by their kidnappers who allowed them to briefly speak with their children with two of them asked to pay N400m each, while another two were told to raise the sum of N100m per child.

One of the parents of the students who spoke to the kidnappers said; “They allowed me to speak with my son. I asked him if he was fine and he said yes. They asked me to meet with the school authorities to raise N400m for my child to be released.”

ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, however said the police had yet to be informed about the ransoms, adding that investigations were ongoing.