Kidnappers invade Lagos, abduct retired Air Vice Marshal

Lagos which prides itself as a secure state, recorded its first high-profile kidnapping on Tuesday following the abduction of retired Air Vice Marshal Sikiru Smith.

AVM Smith, a cousin of a former Inspector-General of Police and currently, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr Musiliu Smith, was kidnapped in Lekki-Ajah area of Lagos.

It was gathered that the retired general, who is currently the Chairman of Double Wealth Ventures Ltd – a dredging and engineering firm – was supervising workers at a site in the Ajah area on Monday when masked gunmen invaded the place and started shooting sporadically.

“They whisked away the retired general in a waiting speed boat through the waterways,” his driver, Corporal Odiji, said.

According to him, Smith had struggled with the gunmen before he was finally subdued and taken away.

“They have kidnapped Air Vice Marshal Smith from the site where we are. Some gun men wearing mask kidnapped him.

“They were shooting everywhere, I was fixing oga’s vehicle, when it happened. On my way back I saw them.

“They went on a boat through the water, I ran to the site I saw oga’s glass and where he struggled with them before they took him. The moved from Pump and sell at Blenco area in ajah, enroute towards Ikorodu area through the water,” Okdiji said in a distress voice note broadcast by him.

Persecondnews reports that at the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Police Command has yet to issue a statement on the incident.