Why I joined in kidnapping the Briton - Suspect

One of the suspected gang members that abducted a British national, Mr. Dickson Lee, Monday regaled onlookers with reasons why he teamed up with others now at large to kidnap him.

The suspect, Benson Chukwuemeka, is currently being detained at the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of the Lagos State Police Command for his alleged roles in the kidnapping of Lee on July 16 on Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Lagos.

The 27-year-old suspect said he got involved in the abduction when one of his friends, Nonye, invited him to Lagos because his business was not thriving and then brought him into the plan to abduct the Briton.

Benson was nabbed at Satellite Town Estate on the Badagry/Seme Road, Lagos, on Sunday when he wanted to collect the ransom of $1 million from the contact person sent by the British High Commission.

The suspect, who before coming to Lagos was based in Port Harcourt and was a dealer in second-hand clothes, said he joined the gang because operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) seized his goods and that affected his business.

“When I discussed my plight with Nonye, he asked me to come down to Lagos on Friday as he had promised to lend me N200,000 to go back to my business.

"But on Friday, July 19, 2013, I went to his house at Okota area, Isolo and it was there I met the European where he was kept in a private room," he said.

The gang picked him to collect the ransom from an official of the British High Commission, not knowing that the commission wanted to entrap the kidnappers. He however received a shocker when instead of the contact person, he met a combined team of detectives from both the SIB and the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS).

He said: "Another gang member, Ugo, and I went on a motorcycle to collect the ransom and while Ugo rode the motorcycle, I was seated at the back.

“When we got to the spot, he pointed at a car parked by the roadside but even before then, he had been communicating with the people. One of the occupants beckoned at me and as I attempted to collect the money in the bag, he held my hand and grabbed me.

"That was how I was arrested but Ugo escaped on his bike. The detectives fired shots at him. It was then I took them to our hideout at Okota which is located inside a swamp."

While addressing journalists, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, said the suspect was arrested with arms, adding that Lee did not sustain any injury when he was rescued.

He added that the only injury he had was where he was shot in the leg when the gang members attacked him and his friend, one Kodjo, who had gone to pick him at the airport after he arrived in Nigeria from UK on board a KLM Airline.

He said: "The victim after arrival was being driven in a black sport utility vehicle when he was attacked and kidnapped by gunmen on July 16 on airport road, Mafoluku and taken to an unknown destination.

"The driver sustained gun injuries during the process. On the receipt of the case by the police, a team of operatives were detailed to investigate the case. The victim’s relatives were advised to negotiate with the kidnappers on the ransom.

"The GSM number that the suspects were using to demand the ransom was sent to the network provider. After many negotiations, the kidnappers agreed to collect N7.5 million.

"On July 21, at about 12.30pm, a combined team of operatives of SARS and SIB cordoned and arrested one of the suspects and upon interrogation, he confessed to the crime and led operatives to their hideout where the victim was rescued unhurt but other members escaped with bullet wounds."