Suspected militants have abducted a 75-year-old Baale, Salino Kareem, at the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State. Kareem was abducted about 2 a.m. at his home at Ebute Lekki on Sunday.
The gunmen were said to have stormed Kareem’s house after navigating through the waterways.
They allegedly shot sporadically into the air before whisking the Baale away through the same route they came.
Kareem’s abduction threw the community into confusion. Some residents were said to have hastily packed their property and relocated to a neighbouring community.
Before Kareem’s abduction, five factory workers in the area, who were kidnapped in February, were released on Saturday.
Kareem was kidnapped the following day. On Tuesday, the kidnappers called one of Kareem’s sons and demanded N20 million ransom.
A monarch in the community, Oba Muyiwa Ogunbekun, called for proper monitoring of the waterways.
He said: “We can no longer sleep with our eyes closed anymore. Kidnappers have taken over Ibeju-Lekki area. We want proper monitoring of the waterways.
We want government to provide us with Marine Police and gunboats. We know police are doing their best, but their best is not enough. We need adequate security of our waterways.”
