Lagos: Kidnappers Of Mohamed Fouani Demand $1.5 Million Ransom

Armed assailants on Friday seized Mohamed Fouani of electronic distributor Fouani Group, as well as at least two others, during a deadly ambush in Ikoyi, Lagos, according to sources familiar with the development.

Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin told Peoples Gazette he was not yet briefed on the attack Saturday afternoon but maintained an investigation had already commenced to unravel the situation. Multiple sources with information said it occurred near Falomo Bridge.

Fouani Group, run by Mohamed Fouani and other prominent Lebanese businesspeople, is the major distributor of LG and Hisense products in Nigeria. The company itself has yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Sources said the abductors had contacted people near the victims for a ransom of $1.5 million. The Gazette was unable to independently authenticate this demand or whether or not it came from the abductors.

A Lagos police source said the incident would likely unnerve the command, which had hitherto boasted of its capacity to keep kidnap-for-ransom activities low across the state even as they spread in other parts of the country.

Most expatriates and diplomats in Nigeria are based in Lagos, especially in the highbrow Ikoyi neighbourhood, where security had long been assumed to be above frequent breaches by motivated assailants.