Rita Odafe
On Tuesday, February 28, a 16-year-old boy, Lekan Mustapha, and his guardian, Zulum Yisa, were remanded in Ondo State Magistrate Court in Akure for alleged kidnapping. Mustapha told the court that they used biscuits and magical rings to abduct nine children and take them to an Islamic cleric in Ikorodu, Lagos State. The suspects were arrested by Amotekun in Oka-Akoko on February 2023 and charged with one count of kidnapping.
The prosecutor, O.F Akeredolu, informed the court that the defendants had confessed to kidnapping nine children, which contravened sections 3(ii)b and 6 of the Ondo State Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Abduction Law, 2010. Mustapha revealed that he worked for Yisa, a member of a syndicate working for an Alfa in Lagos. He said the Alfa gave Yisa a magical ring they used to hypnotise the victims. He added that Yisa would give him biscuits to entice the children and lure them to him.
The prosecutor asked the court to remand the defendants at the Olokuta Correctional Centre until the outcome of advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions. In his ruling, the Magistrate, Damilola Sekoni, ordered Yisa to be remanded at the Correctional Centre and Mustapha to be taken to the juvenile remand home until the outcome of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions’ advice. The case was adjourned until March 28, 2023 for mention.
