CCTV video footage has emerged showing how unidentified men clad in police insignia ambushed and kidnapped businessman John Paul in Lagos State on January 24.
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In the 104-second-long video, Benin-based Paul can be seen driving his 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 SUV into the Lekki Luxury Flats Apartment building in Lekki, where he was staying at the time, when a vehicle parks behind him, and men wielding guns get out of it.
They then pull John and his friends out of his vehicle and usher him into theirs, then drive his vehicle away with them. That was the last time he saw the car and phone.
Speaking with FIJ on Monday, Paul told FIJ that he was under the impression that he was under arrest, but he didn’t know what for.
He said he arrived in Lagos to buy goods for his shop in Benin and was staying in Lekki when the incident happened.
“The men took all of us in their vehicle and drove to Ajah,” he told FIJ.
@thenigerialawyer“I Thought I Was Under Arrest” — CCTV Captures Dramatic Kidnap As Lagos ‘Policemen’ Abduct Businessman, Steal Car, N5m, Demand N2m More
“I was thinking they were driving us to a police station, but they drove us from 12 am that day and just kept driving until we parked and kept us until morning.”
According to Paul’s account to FIJ, the ordeal continued into the morning hours.
“In the morning, they drove us to Ladipo on the mainland, took my iPhone 17 and made me transfer N5 million worth of Bitcoin to their wallet,” Paul told FIJ.
The transfer to the Bitcoin wallet was made at 7:56 am, according to evidence obtained by FIJ.
At about 9 am, the men let Paul and his friends go but disappeared with the car, phone and money.
It did not stop there. The men who kidnapped him got his phone number and began calling to say that he should pay N2 million to reclaim his car.
Paul then posted the CCTV video on Facebook. When the kidnappers saw the video, they sent him WhatsApp messages threatening to attack him again, according to messages seen by FIJ.
Paul, however, reported the matter to the Lagos State Anti-Kidnapping Unit. There, he met Sunday Ebohdakhe Julius, known popularly as J Boy.
Julius demanded N500,000 to investigate the matter, and on January 27, Paul paid this money to the policeman, according to transfer records obtained by FIJ.
On Monday, Julius admitted to collecting the money from the complainant but claimed his investigation hit a snag because the police network was down.
When FIJ asked if it was standard police procedure to collect money from complainants, he evaded the question.
FIJ also called the phone number that had been texting Paul, but the number was unreachable on Monday.
The incident adds to growing concerns about kidnapping and extortion in Lagos State, with victims increasingly reporting encounters with individuals wearing police insignia who engage in criminal activities rather than law enforcement.
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