Kidnappers of the Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, have demanded N158 million ransom.
Bamigbetan was kidnapped at about 11pm on Monday on his way home at Ona Iwa Mimo Street, near Egbe Bridge in Ejigbo.
A senior Ejigbo LCDA official said yesterday that the kidnappers called Bamigbetan’s wife at about 4.00am and demanded the $1 million ransom (about N158 million) and warned her not to inform the police.
Bamigbetan was with his driver, Abiodun Olayiwola, in his black SUV with customised registration number Lagos KOK when the gunmen waylaid them.
The matter has been reported at Ejigbo Police Station. His SUV was badly damaged by an electric pole which stopped it while the driver tried to escape from the gunmen.
All efforts to speak with his wife, Mrs Fatimah Bamigbetan, failed as she was shielded from journalists.
His driver, Olayiwola, who escaped with bruises all over his body, said they were ambushed by four gunmen a few metres away from his boss’s residence.
He said immediately he saw the kidnappers, he attempted to escape with his boss, but the poor state of the road made it impossible.
Olayiwola said: “When I saw them, I put the SUV in reverse gear. They gave us a hot chase and started shooting in the air.
“They would not have succeeded in kidnapping him if the road is good. I tried my best to ensure that we escaped, but I was not seeing properly because it was very dark.
“The SUV was eventually halted by an electric pole and we could not proceed further. I managed to squeeze myself out of the badly damaged vehicle and escaped. “I don’t know the kind of vehicle they came with and I could not recognise them because it was very dark.”
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Publicity Secretary in Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, condemned the kidnapping. Igbokwe said: “There is no place for kidnappers in Lagos State.
The kidnappers should release Bamigbetan in the next 12 hours before we get at them. Nobody does anything funny in Lagos and gets away with it.”
The state House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Moshood Oshun, described the incident as unfortunate, adding that it was lamentable that such evil was creeping into the state.
He said: “Lagos has always enjoyed peace because the state government has been proactive. If the Federal Government is also doing its best like Lagos, the crime rate in the country would have become a thing of the past.”
He said the development further underscored the call for the establishment of state police. Vice-Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Alhaji Monsuru Bello Obe, declined to speak with journalists over the incident, saying: “There is a directive that we should not speak with the media or grant any interview in order not to scuttle investigation into this matter.”
He said: “We will speak with the media at the appropriate time. As you can see, we are not in the best of mood for now, please respect our privacy.”
Meanwhile, the founder of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr Federick Fasehun, has ordered his members to launch a manhunt for Bamigbetan. Fasehun yesterday gave the directive in a statement in Lagos.
He directed his members in the South-West to collaborate with security agents to organise the search for the kidnapped council boss. Fasehun, however, called on the kidnappers to immediately release of the council chairman in the interest of peace.
He said: “We just heard about this unfortunate incident, which has filtered through Lagos State and is all over the Internet.
“Kehinde Bamigbetan is our son, a Yoruba man. Whoever touches any Yoruba man touches the apple’s eye of OPC and will pay dearly for it.
“We warn whoever is behind this evil act that Bamigbetan must be released unharmed. Not one strand of his hair must be hurt”. Fasheun said that the kidnappers had made the worst mistake of their evil career.
It will be recalled that OPC last October assisted in the rescuing of Muibat, wife of the Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Nojeem Salaam, which resulted in the death of two of her abductors.
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