Afeez Hanafi
Gunmen around the creeks of Ishawo, in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, unleashed terror on Friday, abducting a 61-year-old widow, Mrs. Victoria Falodi, who lives on Iyewa Olorunsogo Estate.
PUNCH Metro learnt that a neighbour, identified only as Baba Ayomide, had gone to the woman’s residence around 8am on that day to charge his mobile phone.
It was gathered that the woman had collected the phone from him and had wanted to enter her house when the bandits accosted her and whisked her into the bush while Baba Ayomide was beaten up.
He was said to have been arrested after the case was reported at the Owutu Police Division.
Victoria’s daughter, Fola, said her mother and her vacated the residence a few months ago after a failed attempt to kidnap the sexagenarian.
She added that they came back thinking that the law enforcement agencies had curbed kidnapping in the area, adding that the latest incident proved that they were wrong.
She said, “A neighbour of ours called Baba Ayomide came to charge his mobile phone. She came out and collected the phone from him and was about to enter the house when three men suddenly appeared and attacked her. She begged them but they didn’t listen. They whisked her away. They came with an axe, a cutlass and a gun.
“There was an attempt to kidnap her a few months ago. We left home for about a month. We came back thinking the community was calm. We have not heard anything from the gang. She is a widow.”
Fola’s elder sister, Mrs. Dorcas Oyedepo, urged security agencies to intensify effort at rescuing her mother.
“The army and the police have been making efforts to rescue her. They have been patrolling the community. We want the Nigerian Navy to be involved to so the officers can penetrate the waterways. Members of Oodua People Congress have joined in the rescue efforts,” she said.
A resident, who identified himself only as Tunde, lamented the spate of kidnapping in the community.
“Three months ago, an immigration officer was kidnapped in this area. Last Saturday, they attacked a resident, but did not succeed. Their target has a piggery. They shot three pigs dead. Around 12pm on Saturday, they invaded the community again,” he added.
A landlord on the estate, who was a victim of the gang on two occasions, said the incident had negatively affected the psyche of his family members, adding that he had relocated.
He said, “After I was kidnapped for the second time, I became convinced that the place is no longer safe for my family and me. The second time they came for me, it was in the presence of my wife and children. They are still nursing the trauma. I had to rent a two-bedroomed apartment somewhere else. I also know of a nieghbour that had packed out of the estate.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, had yet to reply to a text message sent to her on the incident.
