A 17-year-old boy, Thompson Adams Omolade, has been allegedly murdered by his friends following a failed kidnapping plot in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos .
According to details of the incident, Thompson left his home last Wednesday, informing his family that he was going to visit some of his former primary school friends who had recently moved closer to the area. He, however, did not disclose their exact address.
Concern grew later that day when, around 5 p.m., his sister attempted to reach him by phone but found it switched off—an unusual occurrence, as he had left home with a power bank. Repeated attempts to contact him proved unsuccessful.
In the early hours of the following day, at about 4 a.m., his phone began ringing, but calls went unanswered. Alarmed by the situation, his sister reported him missing at a police station.
While at the station, she reportedly received a message from Thompson’s phone instructing her to download an application for further communication. The message was followed by a ransom demand of ₦150 million, allegedly sent by the suspects who had abducted him.
With the assistance of the police, authorities tracked Thompson’s SIM card, leading to the arrest of the suspects. During interrogation, they reportedly confessed to the crime, admitting they had targeted the teenager after assuming his family was wealthy.
Police sources indicated that Thompson was restrained, filmed, and subsequently strangled. His body was later disposed of in a bush. The suspects initially misled investigators by claiming the body had been dumped in a canal.
After a search of the canal yielded no results, community members were contacted for information. A resident later provided a photograph of an unidentified corpse discovered earlier and reported to authorities, which had been taken to a morgue in Yaba.
The family subsequently identified the body as that of Thompson.
Investigations further revealed that the suspects carried out the crime in Ibeju-Lekki before fleeing to Ikorodu, where they were eventually tracked and apprehended by the police.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing, while the suspects remain in custody.