LAGOS MAY 24TH (NEWSRANGERS)-30-year-old teacher and choir master, Nathaniel Baiyegun, has been arrested by the police in Ogun State for allegedly kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old student after collecting a ransom of N500,000 from her family.
The deceased, said to be a West African Examination Council (WAEC) candidate, was allegedly lured to her death by the suspect under the guise of attending a coaching class in Ogijo area of Sagamu in Ogun State.
Police investigations revealed that after killing the teenager, Baiyegun demanded ransom from her family and spent the money on online sports betting.
He however claimed the death was accidental, after he administered an overdose of D5 sleeping tablets to the girl before dumping her body in a river in Ogijo.
Preliminary investigations by the police further revealed that Baiyegun was involved in internet fraud activities and had at some point requested nude photographs from the girl.
Police sources said he reconnected with the girl about a year after she left his former school and attempted to introduce her to one of his friends identified Sola for a relationship.
He was also accused of abducting the teenager, keeping her in an uncompleted building and later abandoning her after administering the sleeping tablets.
Speaking with newsmen, the suspect admitted being a teacher and choir master in the community.
“I am a teacher at a private school in Ogijo and she was one of the students in my former school. I am the choir master in my church too. She was not one of my direct students because she was in the humanities while I teach only science students. I was teaching Physics and Further Mathematics,” he said.
He denied having any romantic relationship with the girl.
“We became very close but there was no amorous relationship between us. At times, she would go to my table in the staff room and drop gifts for me even when I was not around,” he stated.
He narrated that after losing contact with the girl, they met again on April 7 while he was creating content for his Instagram page.
“It was on the 7th of April this year when I was shooting content for my Instagram page that I saw her again with her friends. She told me she wanted to rewrite WAEC because she failed Mathematics and English,” he said.
The suspect said he later invited her to what he described as a JAMB and WAEC coaching class and introduced her to his friend, Sola.
“There was one of my friends who had been pestering me that he wanted to date the girl. My friend’s name is Sola. On April 8, I called her to come to my new school. She was at her coaching centre ,when I called her my friend was waiting for her at the back of our school’’, he confessed.
He said, “When I came back around 6:30 pm I met only her at the back of our school. My friend had left and when I asked her what transpired between them, she told me that my friend demanded sex from her and that she told him that she was on her monthly period.
Hence, the teenager requested transport fare from him, but he had no money.
“That was why we planned a fake kidnap on her. She and I both planned the kidnapping. The intention was to collect money from her family,” he alleged.
The suspect confessed keeping the teenager in an unfinished building behind the school while negotiating a ransom with her father using her mobile phone.
“I used her phone to negotiate a ransom of N3 million from her father. She complained that she could not sleep well in the building, so I gave her four dosages of D5 sleeping tablets,” he said.
He added that he later discovered the victim gasping for breath after returning from a burial ceremony.
“When I came back from the burial, I went to see her and discovered that she was gasping for breath. I quickly stopped the bike and took her to a river in the MTN area and dumped her body there,” he confessed.
Baiyegun further admitted that despite knowing the victim was dead, he still collected N500,000 ransom from her father.
“After everything, the father agreed to pay the ransom and he sent N500,000 to me, but I didn’t tell him that his daughter was dead,” he said.
The suspect added, “I spent almost all the money on online sports betting and I regret it now.”
Reacting to the development, the spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, CSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, commended the operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit for the arrest.
“The Ogun State Police Command commends IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, for his continued support towards tactical policing, intelligence-led operations, and the fight against kidnapping and other violent crimes,” Babaseyi stated.
He added that the successful operation underscored, “the bravery, professionalism and unwavering dedication of the operatives.”
Babaseyi assured residents that the command would sustain efforts to dismantle criminal networks across the state.
“The Ogun State Police Command assures residents that sustained efforts are being intensified to dismantle all criminal syndicates operating within the state and its environs, while urging members of the public to continue supporting security agencies with timely and credible information,” he added.
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