We got details of our victim on Facebook – Suspects

The police yesterday said that two undergraduate students of Escare Benin University in the Republic of Benin arrested for allegedly threatening to kill their victim have admitted to getting information about him on Facebook.  The suspects, Alabi Ifeoluwa Ayodeji and Gbaguda Marusi, were arrested at their hideout in Ogun State by operatives of the Lagos […]

The police yesterday said that two undergraduate students of Escare Benin University in the Republic of Benin arrested for allegedly threatening to kill their victim have admitted to getting information about him on Facebook.

 The suspects, Alabi Ifeoluwa Ayodeji and Gbaguda Marusi, were arrested at their hideout in Ogun State by operatives of the Lagos State police command.

 The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Imohimi Edgal, who briefed newsmen on the issue, said that the suspects had allegedly demanded the sum of N600,000 from a victim.

 Edgal said that the suspects had also threatened to kill him if he failed to pay the said sum.

 He said, “On March 26, 2018, one Mr Innocent Ikhigbenareme received a call from a strange number, +14236070207. The caller did not disclose his name and the number used for the call appeared foreign, though the call originated from Nigeria.

 “A ransom of N600,000 was demanded by the suspects from the victim. Meanwhile, the victim was ordered to pay within 24 hours or pay with his life if he fails to.

 “During the call, bargaining was forbidden by the hoodlums. The victim was further instructed to get the money ready and bring it to a location that would soon be forwarded to him. The said Innocent was afraid by this turn of event so he stayed away from his house. To buy time, he requested for the account details of his would-be kidnappers in order to transfer the ransom amount, which was obliged.”

 Edgal stated that at this stage, the victim reported the matter to the command’s anti-kidnapping unit, adding that based on the information, the  intelligence component of the command was immediately activated.

 The investigation revealed that one of the suspects was hibernating at Idi-Iroko. Edgal went on, “As a result of this discovery, Alabi Ifeoluwa Ayodeji was tracked to his hideout. He was arrested on April 7, 2018. He hails from Oyo State and is a final year student of International Relations at Escare Benin University, Republic of Benin.

 “The second suspect, Gbaguda Marusi, a citizen of Benin Republic was arrested on April 8, 2018, at the same location after he was lured to the Nigerian side of the border from his base in Benin Republic. They got their victim on the Facebook and exploited the information they had of him from Facebook. The suspects would have their day in court at the conclusion of investigation.”