IBADAN, Nigeria — Taiwo Segun, a 37-year-old lawyer, and three accomplices find themselves behind bars, accused of orchestrating a faux kidnapping scheme to extort ₦9.3 million.
An Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, presided over by Mr. M.O. Mudashiru, ordered on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, that Segun and his co-defendants — Olorunfemi Olakunle (38), Adams Danjuma (36), and Azubuike Agu (35) — be remanded at the Agodi Correctional Centre in Ibadan until October 25.
The defendants were arraigned on an eight-count charge that includes conspiracy, extortion, obtainment, giving false information to the police, and fraud, pending advice from the Oyo State Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Prosecution counsel Mr. M.O. Ojeih laid out the intricate plot, stating that the accused aided and abetted one another in a self-kidnap scheme.
“Olorunfemi Olakunle unlawfully lied to the police to have been kidnapped to extort ₦7 million from Babatunde Adebayo, Stephen Haastrup, and Adejoke Adeleke,” Ojeih informed the court.
Ojeih further revealed that the suspects had written a petition to the Oyo State Commissioner of Police on May 24, 2023, falsely claiming that Olakunle was kidnapped and that ₦9.3 million had been transferred out of his bank account by the purported kidnappers.
The prosecution also added a twist of impersonation to the unfolding drama.
According to Ojeih, Adams Danjuma defrauded one Hamzat Ibrahim of ₦700,000 by presenting himself as a Chief Superintendent of Police and Personal Assistant to a former Inspector-General of Police.
The accusations leveled against the four men contravene the Oyo State Kidnapping (Prohibition) Law of 2016 and the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State of 2000.
In a significant move, Chief Magistrate Mudashiru ordered the accused to be remanded without taking a plea.
As the defendants prepare to spend their coming days at Agodi Correctional Centre, the incident serves as a cautionary tale, illuminating the lengths some individuals will go to exploit vulnerabilities in a society already plagued by genuine kidnappings and extortion.
