Lagos Painter Arrested for Abducting Customer’s 7-Year-Old Son, Demanding N7m Ransom

Lagos State Police Command

A 32-year-old painter, identified as Chigozie Clement, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly abducting his customer’s seven-year-old son in the Ketu Alapere area of Lagos State.

According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, the suspect allegedly lured the child away from his home on Monday before contacting the victim’s mother to demand a ransom of N7 million for the boy’s release.

The distraught father reported the incident at the Alapere Police Division, after which the case was transferred to the command’s Special Squad I for discreet investigation. Detectives later traced Clement to the Ijegun area, where he was arrested, and the child was rescued unharmed from a locked room where he had been held captive. The boy has since been reunited with his family.

Hundeyin confirmed that during interrogation, Clement confessed to the crime, stating that he resorted to kidnapping to raise money for his family needs. The police added that investigations are ongoing to determine whether he acted alone or had accomplices. He will be charged in court after the conclusion of investigations.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Jimoh, reassured residents that the command remains committed to deploying all available resources to combat crime across the state.

This incident follows a similar case in March, when the police arrested a couple, Emmanuel and Mmesoma Okafor, for allegedly abducting an online vendor in the Iyana Ishashi area of Lagos. The victim, who had gone to deliver a product, was reportedly stripped naked, assaulted, and photographed by the suspects, who then demanded N2 million in ransom. The victim eventually paid N300,000 before reporting the incident to the police, leading to the couple’s arrest.