A kidnapper arrested in Lagos, Tosin Oke, popularly known as “Old Soldier,” has disclosed that he spent part of the $1700 which was his share of the ransom money his gang received, to pay his children’s school fees.
Tosin was part of a kidnapping gang that kidnapped an oil tycoon on Ado Road in Ajah, Lagos some months ago.
The victim was kidnapped at his dredging site by six-man armed kidnappers who took him away in a speedboat to an undisclosed location.
He was released after his family paid N42 million, which the kidnappers converted into $30,000 with an additional N100,00.
Three of the kidnappers, Adelaja Ikuesan, 37, Tosin Oke, 40, and Oluwabunmi Yusuf, 39, were later arrested.
“They gave me $1,700, and when I exchanged it at the Bureau De Change, I received N1.8 million. I used part of it for my children’s school fees, feeding, and saved the rest in my account. I regret getting involved in this; I’m not even sure if I was bewitched into joining them. I don’t understand how I became part of this,” Tosin said.
He also told the police that he had been involved in bunkering and kidnapping for a long time, saying that the pressure to address his family’s needs pushed him into kidnapping.
“I honestly regret getting myself involved in this. Even my family members questioned my involvement because they knew I had never been involved in anything like this before. I used to work as an agent for the police in Zone 2. What could have driven me to participate in something like this?”
