INTERPOL nabs four foreigners for kidnapping, hostage-taking

An Ogun State Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, Ogun State, has ordered the remand of four foreign nationals accused of running a multinational kidnapping, hostage-taking, and unlawful detention ring from their base in the state.

Chief Magistrate A.K. Araba ordered that the four suspects – 41-year-old Augustine Nketia Boateng, 43-year-old Johnson Apan Julus, 26-year-old Dramane Lenganir, and 37-year-old Simms Raphael – be remanded at the Oba Custodial Centre of the Nigerian Custodial Services pending legal advise from the state directorate of legal services.

The suspects, who are citizens of Ghana, Benin Republic, and Burkina Faso, were arrested at their operational base in Harmony Estate, Pakudi Obada Area, by operatives of the INTERPOL Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, led by CP Bode Ojajuni.

Their remand followed an ex parte application filed by Barrister Morufu Ajani Animashaun, a legal officer in the Force Legal/Prosecution Department. The application, marked MA/83PJ/2025, sought a 60-day remand order to allow for further investigation and the issuance of DPP advice in the first instance.

Animashaun told the court that the motion was brought pursuant to Section 36(7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Ogun State (2017), and the court’s inherent jurisdiction. He supported the application with an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Inspector Oyebisi Oni of the INTERPOL Section.

According to the affidavit, INTERPOL Nigeria launched the operation after receiving a distress request from the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, regarding a case of conspiracy, kidnapping, abduction, human trafficking, and obtaining money by false pretence.

One Mr. Lengane Toyazoula had reported that his relative, 23-year-old Lengane Audrey, had been trafficked and was being held hostage in Nigeria.
Investigations led INTERPOL operatives to the estate in Ogun State, where 15 foreign victims, comprising 12 Ghanaians, one Burkinabe, one Togolese, and one Ivorian, were rescued.

The suspects allegedly admitted to collecting 1,869,000 CFA francs (approximately ₦4.79 million) as ransom from victims families.

Further findings showed that the group allegedly lured their victims from various West African countries with promises of securing Canadian visas, only to detain them forcibly and extort money from their families.

Inspector Oni stated that the suspects ran a cross-border criminal network, using Harmony Estate as a detention and extortion hub. He added that the victims were unlawfully imprisoned, deprived of personal liberty, and subjected to psychological abuse.

The offences listed include conspiracy to commit felonies, kidnapping, abduction, human trafficking and obtaining money by false pretence.

A proposed charge sheet was annexed to the affidavit.

The court also heard that the duplicate case file had been forwarded to the Ogun DPP’s office for legal review, while 12 Ghanaians among the rescued victims had been handed over to the Consular General of the Ghana High Commission on December 3, 2025.

Chief Magistrate Araba, after reviewing the application and affidavit, granted the remand request and adjourned the matter to February 27, 2026 for further proceedings.

Culled from Newsmakerslive.org