We collected N5m, not N50m ransom for Lagos Fire Service boss, says suspect

A suspected member of the kidnap gang that abducted the Lagos Fire Service Acting Director, Rasaki Musibau, has said the gang collected N5 million as ransom for his release and not N50 million as was being circulated.

Musibau was abducted on Saturday April 6, 2019 by gunmen on the Ikorodu-ItoikinEpe road along with six other persons whose identities were not disclosed. The victims were released three days later after ransom had been collected.

The suspect, Blessing Boyo, 29, who was paraded alongside Smart Alfred yesterday at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, by the state Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, said that the gang leader, identified simply as MK, who is still at large, had told them the ransom money brought was N5m.

Narrating how they kidnapped Musibau and the six others, Boyo said they used timbers to block the road before ambushing their victims.

He added the four guns used for the operation were brought by MK, who, he said, lured him into kidnapping.

Boyo said, “MK called me for the operation. He had guys in the bush.

He brought out guns and said it was kidnapping work. I have not kidnapped before. I used to carry timber with an operator.

“We blocked the road with woods, stopped vehicles and kidnapped them.

I have not been given any money. He said we should return to base first. It was MK that was with the money, which he said was only N5m.

“My first time in Lagos was on April 5. I am from Arogbo in Ondo State. We did not beat the man. We took him into the bush. He was fed cooked food. MK’s boys cooked egusi and eba and the man was served.”

Corroborating Boyo’s statement, Alfred, also a native of Arogbo in Ondo State, said they followed MK because he fooled them he was a timber operator and needed carriers.

He said it was when they got into the bush that he told them it was a kidnapping job he wanted them to do with him, and since he was jobless, he joined him.

“I did not understand what he meant. He showed us guns. I asked if he wanted to kill me but he said he would show me how he does the work.

As we got to where we wanted to operate, he cut a wood and blocked the road. MK fled when police arrested us,” he said.

Muazu said two single-barrel guns were recovered from the suspects and investigation was ongoing.