By Oluwatoyin Adegoke
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 30-year-old teacher who is also a choir master, Nathaniel Baiyegun, for allegedly kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old WAEC candidate after collecting a ransom of five hundred thousand naira from her family in Ogijo area of Sagamu Local Government Area.
Police investigations revealed that the suspect allegedly lured the teenager under the pretext of attending a coaching class before taking her to an uncompleted building where she was held while ransom negotiations continued with her family.
The command said the suspect later administered sleeping tablets to the victim, leading to her death, before dumping her body in a river around the MTN area of Ogijo.
The suspect reportedly confessed to using the victim’s mobile phone to demand a ransom of three million naira from her father and later received five hundred thousand naira despite knowing that the teenager was already dead.
In a statement, the Police Public Relations, Mr Oluseyi Babaseyi explained that Investigations further showed that the suspect allegedly spent most of the ransom proceeds on online sports betting and was also linked to internet fraud activities, including requests for nude photographs from the deceased.
Speaking with newsmen, the suspect admitted being a teacher and choir master in the community, claiming that the alleged kidnap was initially planned to extort money from the victim’s family before the incident turned tragic.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police,Mr Bode Ojajuni commended operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit for the arrest and assured residents that the command would sustain efforts to dismantle criminal networks across the state.
Edited by Taiwo Akinola
