Kidnapper Paraded With Girl Friend In Lagos

The girlfriend of a kidnap suspect was yesterday paraded with her man by the police in Lagos. They had, for days, been guests of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Lagos State Police Command for allegedly kidnapping a 13-year-old boy, Daniel Oke, in Lagos.

The man, Raymond Quadri, 24, a native of Auchi, Edo State, operates a film-viewing centre in Lagos, while his co-suspect, Miss Bolanle Fasasi, 19, is a hair-dresser hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The state police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said Quadri was arrested after a complaint was lodged at Ikotun Police Station by the kidnapped child’s parents. The policemen at the Ikotun Police Station arrested him and he was later transferred to SARS. The SARS’ Special Squad led by Abba Kyari stormed Bolanle’s home, arrested her and rescued Daniel.

Defending herself, Fasasi said: “Uncle Raymond told me that he was coming with somebody to stay with me for some days. I said I would tell my sister because I was living with her and my mother. The next day, he came with the child and left after dropping money to take care of him. The following day, I became worried and called him on phone and asked: ‘Why is the child not going to school and he is of school age. Will the parents not get worried?’ Even my mother who is living with us became worried.

“ It was on Monday morning that I called Raymond to come and take the child back to his parents. I did not know that he kept the child for kidnap deal.”

“Raymond is my boyfriend. I did not know that he could go into kidnapping until I was arrested. Even when I asked the boy when police were arresting me, the child claimed he planned it together with Raymond,” she said.

Quadri confessed his involvement, saying: “I was the one who kidnapped the child.”

He added: “Both of us lived at 51 Lasisis Ige Street, Ikotun. I have a viewing centre there. I needed money to buy more equipment for centre because expanding the centre would cost between N500,000 and N2 million and the cheapest way to get it is to kidnap the boy whose parents I knew, were capable of producing the money. I only wanted N2 million from the parents.

He spoke further: “I later took the child to the house of my girlfriend at Ikorodu to keep pending the time the parents would pay the ransom. I kept the boy there for three days. I used to spend N2,000 for the child every day because I instructed my girlfriend to be giving him anything he liked to take so that he would be comfortable. I told my girlfriend that we would get millions of naira when the parents pay ransom.”

Braide said they would soon be charged to court.