Apprentice kidnaps master’s son for failure to settle him

A twenty-three-year-old Chimaobi Sylvester has told the police in Lagos that he kidnapped his master’s son because of his boss’ refusal to pay him his ‘settlement money’ after allegedly serving him for four years.

The suspect, who was paraded at the command headquarters in Ikeja yesterday said after the fourth year he was sent away by his boss without any benefit.
According to him: “I have worked as a sales boy and apprentice, but after spending four years, when it was time for him to settle me, he asked me to go back to the village to do something else.”

“After I had spent two months in the village, I came back to Lagos to kidnap my boss’ son.”Sylvester said because he had lived with his boss, he knew when he was not always at home, saying “I banked on that with one of my friends, Emmanuel Blessing 20, and went to his house last week Thursday and lured his eight-year-old son and took him away.

“I took the boy to the apartment given to me by the hotel management, where I worked at Oyingbo area, and locked him up. Blessing then contacted my boss and informed him that his son had been kidnapped and we demanded N5 million ransom.

“After the victim’s father had agreed to pay the N5 million ransom, I went to the bank with a friend to perfect my Automated Teller Machine card to withdraw the money not knowing that anti-kidnapping policemen were around. I was arrested with my friend.”  

The state police boss, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, advised businessmen, who bring young boys to work or learn a trade to fulfill their promises to the boys and their parents to avoid ‘bad blood’. He, however, said the suspects would be charged to court at the completion of the investigation.

Meanwhile, a community vigilance group aborted what would have been a big catch for a six-man gang of suspected kidnappers in Esit Eket Local Council of Akwa Ibom State at the weekend, when a former Speaker, Mr. Bassey Essien, was rescued from the hands of the hoodlums

Family sources told The Guardian in Uyo that unknown gunmen kidnapped tEssien on his way to the farm in Etebi, Esit Eket, but was rescued by the gallantry efforts of youths and policemen from the area.

“The gunmen blocked his vehicle and dragged him out. They forced him into their own vehicle and headed towards neighboring Udung Uwe community in Urueffong Uroko Local Council but unfortunately, their vehicle broke down and they mobilized motorcycle and continued their journey amidst heavy rainfall.Again, the motorcycle had flat tires.”

The abductors, unable to continue the journey into their forest hideout, decided to hide in the thick forest around the community. By this time, information of the kidnap had filtered into the community.