Oniba’s family paid N15.1m ransom to kidnappers – Witness

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial on the kidnap of Oba Goriola Oseni of Iba, on Tuesday, told an Igbosere High Court that the monarch’s family paid N15.1m as ransom to the kidnappers.
The traditional ruler was kidnapped at his palace at Iba on July 16, 2016.
Four men — Duba Furejo, Ododowo Isaiah, Reuben Anthony and Yerin Fresh – are facing an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping, over the incident.
The police had said that the accused also murdered ‎a security guard, Sunday Okanlawon, a commercial motorcyclist, Joseph Okeke and robbed the monarch’s wife of her cell phone before shooting her several times.
The offences contravened Sections ‎233, 230, 299, 297 (2) (b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
An Investigative Police Officer, Sgt. Dele-Ojo Oduayo, attached to the Inspector-General of Police, Force Headquarters, Abuja, in his testimony told the court that the family of the traditional ruler had paid the money to the kidnappers before he was moved to Lagos to investigate the case.
Oduayo, who testified on Tuesday, was introduced by Mr Jide Martins, an Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, as the seventh prosecution witness.
He said that the family was about to pay another ransom to the kidnappers before his team swung into action.
Oduayo also told the court that his team ambushed the first accused, Furejo, in the creek, and arrested him.
“Furejo was carrying a nylon bag containing N200, 000 at the time of his arrest; he confessed that the money was part of the ransom money,” he said.
He testified that Furejo linked the second accused, Isaiah, to the crime and said he (Isaiah) was escaping to Abeokuta.
“We arrested Isaiah at Iyana Ipaja garage, as he was boarding a bus to Abeokuta,” Oduayo said.
The IPO also narrated to the court how the third and fourth accused were arrested.
He said that Isaiah had confessed to his team that the third accused was given N800, 000 from the ransom, which the fourth accused got a share from.
The IPO said that the statements of all the accused were taken and their interrogation was recorded on video.
After the testimony of the witness, the prosecutor tendered the statements of the accused, the video recordings, the photographs of the scene of the crime and the N200, 000 cash found with the first accused.
The accused counsel, S. W. Baidi, Anthony Onwueze, and G. O. Egwuaroje, all objected to the admissibility of the documents.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo said that the video recordings must be viewed in the open court to ascertain its contents before it would be admitted.
She, however, admitted the other documents in evidence and adjourned the case to March 3 for the continuation of trial.
(NAN)