The police in Ogun State have arrested four suspected internet fraudsters popularly known as Yahoo Boys, for allegedly kidnapping their colleague over “proceeds of their fraud business.”
The suspects, Agbe Simeon, Messiah Nicky (female)’, Oladapo Dolapo and Yetunde Shonola (female) were arrested at Orile Imo village in Obafemi Owode LGA of Ogun State.
The police spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, told newsmen on Thursday that the suspects were arrested on Monday following information received by the police at Owode Egba divisional headquarters on the kidnapping of one Haruna Usman.
He said the police were informed that Usman was abducted on December 22 and held hostage somewhere in Orile Imo.
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Oyeyemi said following the information, the DPO Owode Egba division, CSP Popoola Olasunkanmi, mobilized his men and stormed the area, where four of the abductors were apprehended while two others escaped.
The police spokesman said a preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects and the victims were internet fraudsters who had swindled a yet-to-be-identified victim a sum of N26 million.
According to him, the victim gave his colleagues N2.2m out of N26m with the claim that the ‘client’ had not paid the fully money.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim and the suspects belong to an internet fraud syndicate, and that they recently swindled somebody whose identity is not yet known of the sum of N26,437,950, but the victim only gave the sum of N2,200,000 to his other colleagues, claiming that the money had not been paid completely by their client.
“This infuriated his colleagues who then lured him to a herbalist’s home at Orile Imo and held him, hostage, there since Thursday, 22nd of December 2022, with a threat to kill him there if he refused to give them their complete share.
“But while they were there, information got to the police who moved in, rescued the victim and apprehended four amongst the abductors, while others escaped,” he said.
Oyeyemi quoted the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, as directing that the suspects be transferred to the anti-kidnapping unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
