Deborah Akinyosoye
A 32-year-old painter, Chigozie Clement, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly abducting his customer’s seven-year-old son in the Ketu Alapere area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Thursday, said that the suspect allegedly lured the child away from his home on Monday.
He was said to have later contacted the victim’s mother to demand a ransom of N7m for the boy’s release.
According to Hundeyin, the distraught father reported the matter at the Alapere Police Division before the case was transferred to the command’s Special Squad I for discreet investigation.
He stated that detectives later trailed the painter to the Ijegun area of the state, where he was arrested, while the boy was rescued in the process.
The statement partly read, “On August 25, 2025, the victim’s father reported at the Alapere Police Division that his son had been taken away from his house without his consent by his painter. Shortly after, the suspect called the victim’s mother, demanding the sum of N7,000,000 as ransom for the child’s release.
“Following the report, the case was transferred to the Special Squad I of the Lagos State Police Command for a discreet investigation. On August 27, 2025, operatives traced the suspect to Ijegun, Lagos, where he was arrested, and the seven-year-old victim was rescued unhurt from a locked room where he had been held captive. The victim has since been reunited with his family.”
Hundeyin further stated that Clement confessed to the crime during interrogation, claiming that he resorted to kidnapping in order to raise money for his personal family needs.
The police image maker added that the suspect would soon be charged in court, while investigations would continue to determine if he had accomplices.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, reassures Lagos residents that the command will continue to deploy all available resources to combat crimes,” the statement added.
Report shows in March that operatives of the state police command arrested a couple identified as Emmanuel and Mmesoma Okafor for allegedly kidnapping an online vendor who had gone to deliver a product in the Iyana Ishashi area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, during a press briefing, said the incident was reported on Sunday, March 9, by the victim, who alleged that she was abducted while attempting to make a delivery.
He said, after seizing the victim, the couple allegedly stripped her naked, assaulted her and took her nude pictures.
Hundeyin added that the couple demanded a ransom of N2m, threatening to leak the images if she failed to comply.
The police spokesman further disclosed that the victim managed to pay N300,000 and later reported the incident to the police, leading to the arrest of the culprits.