A teenager, Lekan Mustapha, 16, and his guardian, Zulum Yisa, have been arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Akure, the Ondo State capital, over alleged kidnapping.
The teenager told the court that they kidnapped nine youngsters in total throughout the state and took the victims to an Ikorodu, Lagos State, Islamic preacher.
They were apprehended in January 2023, by members of the Ondo State Security Network Agency, commonly known as Amotekun, for allegedly participating in kidnapping in Oka-Akoko, the State’s Akoko North-West Local Government Area.
They were later arraigned before the court on one count bordering on kidnapping.
On 1 March, the State counsel, O.F Akeredolu, informed the court that the defendants were involved in kidnappings, adding that they had confessed to having kidnapped up to nine children.
According to him, the crime violated Sections 3(ii)b and 6 of the 2010 Ondo State Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Abduction Law.
Mustapha testified in court that Yisa, a member of the syndicate working for one Alfa in Ikorodu, was his employer and said that the Alfa gave Yisa a magical ring that they used to hypnotize their victims. Mustapha claimed that Yisa was a member of the syndicate.
He said: “l started living with Yisa after the death of my parents some years ago for survival, and we both came from Ilorin to this place.
“Whenever we wanted to kidnap our victim, Yisa will give me biscuits to entice the children and lure them to him.
“He will then use the ring to beat them and they would become unconscious. We normally transfer them (the victims) to Alfa (in Ikorodu). We have kidnapped up to nine children.”
In order to await guidance from the Director of Public Prosecution, the prosecution requested that the defendants be held in custody at the Olokuta Correctional Facility.
In his ruling, the magistrate, Damilola Sekoni, ordered the remand of Yisa at the correctional centre.
Also, he directed that the adolescent be transported to the juvenile detention facility while awaiting the DPP’s opinion and adjourned the case till 28 March for mention.
