A Lagos-based businessman, Ogunmuyiwa Akinwale, has recounted how his driver plotted the kidnap of his wife and daughter.
Although the planned kidnap was aborted by the timely arrival of policemen from Alakuko division, the victim said the trauma he went through could best be imagined.
Narrating his ordeal, Mr. Akinwale said he was driving to the church at about 8:00a.m. on that fateful day when a commercial bus with three occupants ran into his vehicle from behind. Immediately the incident occurred, those who had been contracted for the illicit job came down from the bus and started apologising, he added.
“I was taking my family to church when a commercial bus hit my car. I came down to see the extent of the damage. They even promised to repair my car. To convince me that they were serious, one of them advised that my wife and daughter should drive in their bus. By this time, traffic gridlock on the road had stretched many miles, extending to the opposite lane.
“After much argument, coupled with the fact that other road users started asking us to leave the road, my wife and daughter moved into their bus while I was in my car driving behind them. Unknown to me, it was a ploy to kidnap my wife and daughter,” he added.
The victim, who said he would ever remain grateful to the police, especially officers and men from the Alakuko police station, led by SP Ajayi Abayomi, alleged that two of the suspects were arrested while others escaped.
He explained that he allowed his wife and daughter to enter the commercial bus to prevent the driver from escaping, but he drove off and left him behind.
“To my amazement, the speed at which the bus was moving made me to suspect foul play. As I was trying to meet up with them, I ran into a ditch and one of my tyres burst. So I stopped a commercial motorcycle (okada) to chase them.
“I raised the alarm, and to the glory of God, policemen from Alakuko on patrol heard me. They called for backup and started pursuing the bus. They trailed the vehicle to a building in Idiroko, Ogun State and rescued my wife and daughter unhurt,” he narrated.
In his confessional statement, one of the suspects said he was lured by other gang members to commit the crime.
When our reporter visited Alakuko police station, the bus was parked there, but the divisional police officer in charge of the station, Superintendent Ajayi Abayomi, who led the rescue operation, declined comment on the incident and directed our reporter to the Lagos State Police Command.
At the command, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, confirmed the incident.
