Lawyer, three others to remain in custody over alleged fake kidnap, extortion

A lawyer, Taiwo Segun (37), and three others are to cool their heels behind bars at the Agodi Correctional Centre, Ibadan, till Oct. 25 for allegedly faking a kidnap and extortion of N9.3 million.

The order was given on Wednesday by an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, presided over by Mr. M.O. Mudashiru.

He ordered that Segun and his three co-travellers, Olorunfemi Olakunle (38), Adams Danjuma (36) and Azubuike Agu (35) be kept in custody pending advice from the Oyo State Directorate of Public Prosecution.

The police arraigned the accused on an eight-count charge of conspiracy, extortion, obtainment, giving false information to the police, and fraud.

Prosecution counsel, Mr. M. O. Ojeih, earlier told the court that the suspects allegedly aided and abetted one another in a self-kidnapping scheme.

“Olorunfemi Olakunle unlawfully lied to the police to have been kidnapped for the purpose of extorting N7 million from Babatunde Adebayo, Stephen Haastrup, and Adejoke Adeleke,’’ Ojeih told the court.

He added that the accused gave false information to the police through a petition they wrote on May 24 to the Oyo State Commissioner of Police.

He said the accused claimed in the petition that Olorunfemi was kidnapped and that the kidnappers transferred N9.3 million from his bank account, a claim that was false.

He said that the third accused, Adams Danjuma, allegedly defrauded Hamzat Ibrahim of N700,000 on the same issue.

Danjuma, he explained, presented himself to his victim as a Chief Superintendent of Police and Personal Assistant to a former inspector general of Police.

Ojeih said the offences contravened the Oyo State Kidnapping (Prohibition) Law (2016) and the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State (2000).

No plea was taken before Chief Magistrate Mudashiru ordered the accused to be remanded at the correctional facility.