Truly, these are troubling times marked by unsettling occurrences.
At the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters in Ikeja, eleven individuals suspected of criminal activity were apprehended in the upscale Lekki area of the state.
Shockingly, they confessed to being part of a ruthless gang involved in kidnapping, extortion, and the sexual assault of their male victims.
Disturbingly, they revealed that they targeted only physically fit males and exclusively engaged in activities with them, eschewing any involvement with females during their operations.
Each suspect shared their initiation into the gang and the methods employed in their heinous acts, which often culminated in the recording of their sexual encounters, subsequently used to extort money from their victims.
Despite his seniority and profession as a lawyer, one member of the gang attempted to distance himself from their depraved actions, claiming to be a bisexual male with attractions to both genders.
During their interrogation by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Special Squad under the leadership of CSP Kehinde Oni, the suspects detailed how they connected with fellow homosexuals or unsuspecting individuals, luring them into their apartments located in affluent areas such as Lekki, Ajah, and Badore, often through gay apps or false advertisements posing as real estate agents.
According to one of the suspects, Esama Joel, 28, who is a POS operator at Jakande Estate Lekki, “I am from Edo state, I dropped out from Secondary School and came to Lagos where I started working as a Chef in a hotel.
“I was supplying liquid soap to hotels, and I was also the owner of the POS which the gang used to extort various sums of money from our victims.
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“It was one Edet that introduced me to gay. What we usually do is to lure our victims to any of our rented apartments, and as soon as he entered the room, two of us would force him to have sex with us through the anus.
“While we were on it, other members would appear in the same room and start recording our sex orgies on video.
“Sometimes, all of us would satisfy ourselves with one victim or just a few of us. But as soon as we finished satisfying ourselves, we would show the victim the video recording and threaten to post it on social media.
“This usually made them afraid and cry out, begging that we should state our terms. At that stage, we would request his financial details, and if he claimed he had no money, we would insist on calling either his parents or friends.
“This had always paid off hugely because we always ended up collecting all they had including valuables like gold, costly phones, etc. After that, we usually abandoned them in the apartment and would relocate to another place.”
Another suspect, Fuad Abioye, 23, a Muslim from Kwara state who also lives at Lekki, said he dropped out of Secondary School and started repairing air conditioners. He said, “We are three in our family, and I am the firstborn.
“My father is a graphic designer while my mother is a trader. I am not married. Edet introduced me to the gay gang. I have been with them for over six months.
“I have succeeded in luring two victims to the gang, and we collected money from them after raping them through the anus. I have been giving some of the money I made to my father to complete his house while I used the rest to pay my rent and furnish my house.”
Another suspect, Bruno Ebuka, 26, a Christian who lives in Ajah confessed that he had four bank accounts and all the gang members had been sharing the money they realized from their victims. He specifically said that one of their victims did not have money and they had to call his mother, who transferred the amount to the gang.
Victor Ikechukwu, an 18-year-old hotelier and devout Christian from Abia state, residing in Egbeda, shared his story. He worked as a front desk staff at a hotel in Opebi, Ikeja, while also managing an online clothing business. His father passed away when he was just 9 years old, leaving his mother to care for him and his three siblings in Port-Harcourt.
He said, “I set up two gay guys I met on a gay app called gender. We all agreed to have fun and that was why we hired an apartment where we live together. We indeed recorded our victims on video after which we threatened them and they would release money to us. We normally had three outings in a week. We used different apartments. Our gang members were also sleeping with each other.”
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Okolie Francis, a 23-year-old entrepreneur hailing from Anambra state and a devout Christian, resides in Badore. He completed his education at IMT, Enugu. Francis recounted that he was introduced to the residence of Mack Philips in Ibeju, Lekki.
According to him, “he was the one that introduced me to homosexuality but when I stopped sleeping with him, he threw me out of his house. I was homeless until I met a friend who introduced me to the gang. I joined the gang because I was homeless and we used a gay app called Grinder to lure our victims. We also lure our victims from drinking joints.”
Kelvin Kalu, aged 33, the eldest among the group, disclosed that he obtained his degree from Madonna University, Okija, located in Anambra State. Additionally, he resides in Lekki.
His confession: “My problem started after I got a call from a friend called Johnson on 17th of March, 2024, saying he was in a police station having problems with friends over a theft case. I went there to help them. When I got there, policemen were parading some suspects and one of them pointed at me saying that I was his gay customer. As a lawyer, I post job vacancies for Human Resources groups I belong to.
One Victor reached out to me for the job and I requested his CV but he instead sent his nude pictures to me. He was asking me for money saying that he was starving and I decided to help by accommodating him. One day, after he asked for money and I did not give him, he started threatening me. He later visited my house twice saying that I had sex with him. I am a bisexual male. I have feelings for both genders. I have had conversations with the same gender and it is about intimacy.”
Eno Joel Mbang, 25, a plumber from Cross River State said he was working in a cleaning company at Lekki where he was paid N40, 000.00. He said, “I joined the gang in March this year. We kidnapped our victims, stripped them naked and made love to them after which we would record them and use it to extort money from them. I only benefitted twice since joining them. What we are doing is bad.”
John Bitrus, 28, a businessman from Benue state said he was into liquid soap production until he joined the gang in November, last year. His confession: “I have three sisters but I don’t know how many brothers I have. I came to Lagos through one of my uncles who is now in Cameroun. We all use the gay app. When we kidnapped or lured a victim, he would be taken to a room where one of us would try to seduce him. As soon as he was in the mood, others would jump into the room and record the action. At that stage, the victim would be begging that we should not post it on social media. We would then demand payment. If he didn’t have money, he would call his friends to send money. I can’t say how many men we have slept with or how much money we collected from them.”
Eureka Evans, 27, a bartender from Anambra State is an undergraduate at the National Open University. According to him, “Our main motive was to reduce gay practice in the society but the economic problems in the country made us decide to use it and make money.
Additional suspects, including Opeyloyeru Aromide, a realtor hailing from Oyo state, as well as Edet Ekama, aged 28, from Calabar, and Emeka Evans, aged 27, have admitted to their participation in the illicit activity, disclosing that they have gained from it.
Police sources informed Crime Guard that the suspects had been apprehended following accusations from two complainants who claimed they were kidnapped and robbed in Lekki.
Allegedly, the victims were held captive in an apartment where their valuables and significant amounts of money were forcefully taken, including funds from their bank accounts.
The incident was reported at Maroko police station and subsequently escalated to the attention of Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade.
He promptly transferred the case to his Special Squad with strict instructions to resolve it and apprehend all involved suspects.
According to reports, the investigative team swiftly acted, leading to the arrest of the suspects. Further investigations revealed their involvement with international clients, particularly from South Africa.
Police sources highlighted the gang’s particularly heinous modus operandi, which included not only kidnapping but also blackmail, extortion, and sexual assault, targeting fellow men.
Crime Guard discovered that following investigations, the suspects were brought before Yaba Magistrate Court 3 on charges related to conspiracy, kidnapping, and robbery.
However, there were attempts to mitigate the charges by certain interested parties, influencing both the court and investigators.
Despite this, the Commissioner of Police was made aware of these efforts to secure bail for the suspects. He ensured they remained in prison custody pending advice from the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Sources revealed that while the police diligently pursued the case, clandestine attempts were repeatedly made by influential figures in society to compromise the investigators, all of which were unsuccessful.
(Vanguard)
