The insecurity in Lagos State seems to have worsened, particularly in the Alimosho and Amuwo Odofin Local Government Areas of the state.

Wakadaily learnt that a popular spare parts dealer identified as Ejike Conversion was kidnapped on Saturday night in Ladipo.

At around 12 am, Ejike and his workers was said to have been taking an inventory of the newly imported goods in front of his plaza when a group of armed men ambushed them.

A trader and member of the Board of Trustees of the market, who spoke with newsmen confirmed the incident.

He said, “Yes, Ejike was kidnapped in the market on Saturday night. It is a surprise to many because it happened late in the night when almost every trader in the market had gone home at the end of business. The market closes daily at 6pm. He was abducted at his warehouse when he was taking delivery of his goods delivered from China very late in the night.”

Another source who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the kidnappers had contacted the family as they demanded N500 million ransom, however the family has been negotiating for reduction but were yet to reach an agreement.

The source said: “Ejike is still with the kidnappers. They are demanding N500m and the amount is too much. The family has been negotiating with them but they did not reduce the amount. They insisted on collecting the amount. He was kidnapped around 12 am in his office. The police had also been informed.”

Similarly, a yet-to-be-identified businessman was kidnapped earlier this month around the Ago Palace area of the state while the abductors demanded a N500m ransom for his release.

Narrating his experience, a project architect, Daario Naharis, via his X page said he was almost kidnapped in the area in November.

He wrote, “I had this experience firsthand last month in this same Ago. I was coming home around 12 am when some guys with 2.4 Camry blocked me on motion. I bashed into their back bumper, alighted immediately considering the way they drove and bolted away seeing four doors opening at instant.

“My saving grace was that I was riding on a heavier vehicle as the impact devastated them. Before they could reconcile it, I made a decision in a nanosecond and crossed to the other road. If they were just robbers, they would have ransacked or taken the vehicle along.

“I have never had the courage to speak about my experience that day except seeing this tweet, never knew what came into me to go into them with such speed which turned out to have saved me in that situation. Those guys were properly armed and casual.”