Tosin Oke, a suspected kidnapper popularly known as old soldier, has stated that he spent his share of kidnapping ransom on his children’s education and other household expenses.
A six-man armed gang abducted an oil magnate at his dredging site on Ado Road in Ajah area of Lagos State, some months ago.
They took him away in a speedboat to an undisclosed location via the waterways.
It was learnt that the heavily armed kidnappers fired shots into the air to deter anyone from approaching them.
According to the report, the victim’s family managed to raise N42 million, which they converted into $30,000 as demanded by the kidnappers, along with an additional N100,000 in cash.
The ransom was delivered to the gang, but three of the kidnappers—Adelaja Ikuesan, 37, Tosin Oke, 40, and Oluwabunmi Yusuf, 39—were eventually apprehended in their hideout after dividing the ransom.
However, Tosin who was part of the gang that abducted the oil magnate expressed deep regret for his involvement in the crime.
Oke, who spoke in Pidgin English in a video by Vanguard on social media on Monday stressed that he was not sure if he was bewitched into joining them.
Stressing that he does not understand how he became part of them:
“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.
“I honestly regret getting myself involved in this,” Oke said. “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?”