(Crime): A Lady Conspires with her Husband to Kidnap and Kill her Boss after taking N15million Ransom

Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested a man identified as Larry Adebayo Adewumi and his wife Okereke Olufunmilayo. They were arrested with one accomplice, Adebowale Sanni over their alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of a popular hotelier, Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith, the Director of Rolak Hotel Ijebu Ode.

Mr. Otunba Ajayi Smith was kidnapped on the 28th of September 2020 at about 7:30 am, at Anifowose Estate Igbeba, Ijebu Ode by some gunmen. And was brutally killed. 

In a statement released by the spokesperson of the state police command, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, on receiving the information about the kidnap, men of the anti-kidnapping unit were mobilized to commence an investigation. But all efforts to rescue the victim proved futile, despite the victim's family paid a ransom of N15 million to the abductors.

According to the spokesperson, ''Since then, police operatives have not relented in their efforts to arrest the perpetrators”. They were later apprehended in September 2022, when they were about to kidnap the wife and son of Otunba Ajayi Smith.

The team, having got the intelligence report, embarked on technical surveillance for the suspects. Consequent upon which one of them was traced to Ikeji Arakeji in Osun state, where the 55 years old Adebowale Sanni was apprehended. On interrogation, he confessed to have been on the trail of Yeye Olusola Roseline Ajayi, the wife of their earlier victim in order to kidnap her on the order of Larry Adebayo Adewumi the ringleader.

Sanni confessed further that it was Larry who described the location of the victim's hotel and his other business outfits to him. He instructed that if they succeeded in kidnapping the woman and her son, the two of them must be killed after collecting ransome in order not to leave any trace, just as they did to her husband two years ago.

His confession led to the arrest of Larry's wife Olufunmilayo who was a manager at the victim's building materials' shops. Larry himself was arrested three days after. He initially denied having anything to do with the kidnap of Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith. But when he came into confrontation with Adebowale Sanni, his accomplice, he knew immediately that his cup is full.

SP Oyeyemi said preliminary investigations revealed that Larry who is an indigene of Ilesha Osun state used to be a fraudster before he moved to full-time kidnapping business. ''His modus operandi was to scout for a rich victim, after which he will mobilizes the gang working for him to go after such person.  He got full information about Otunba Ajayi Smith through his wife Olufunmilayo who was an employee of the late Otunba Abayomi Ajayi Smith".

Further investigations revealed that Larry has two bank accounts where he used to keep money realized from his criminal activities. In one of the accounts with number 0010913206, the sum of N34,953,455 was discovered and the other one has N4,576,846 in it.

The Police spokesperson said a 2014 model Toyota Highlander was also recovered from him.

 OneForumNews1