On Thursday, Lagos State Commissioner of Police Moshood Jimoh said no kidnapping has occurred in the state in the past 10 months.
Jimoh made the claim during a session of A Place at the Table on News Central where he was interviewed about the state of security in Lagos and the residents’ relationship with the police.
“… They lack sleep and it’s because the police are giving protection to all Lagosian and even the huge investment of the government. And this is the state that today, for more than 10 months to a year, we don’t have a single case of kidnapping,” the commissioner of police says. 
However, Gists9ja has found a timeline of kidnapping incidents recorded in Lagos between mid-2025 and early 2026. These cases were reported by national newspapers and, in some instances, confirmed by the police.
In June 2025, a 20-year-old man identified as Kehinde was abducted after being lured to Morogbo in the Badagry area of Lagos through a WhatsApp conversation.
According to a report by New Telegraph newspaper, some individuals posing as business associates invited him for a meeting. On arrival, he was overpowered and taken to a hideout. The kidnappers contacted his family and demanded a N500,000 ransom.
After a complaint was filed, operatives of the Lagos Police Special Squad tracked the suspects using phone records and other forms of intelligence gathering. The police later raided the hideout, rescued the victim unharmed and arrested three suspects aged between 25 and 30. The Nigeria Police Force cited the operation as part of its anti-kidnapping efforts in Lagos and neighbouring communities.
In June 2025, residents of Igbe-Alagemo in Ikorodu cried out for help following multiple kidnapping incidents in their community. This prompted FIJ to visit the area to document their plight.
In one case, kidnappers took Ali Audu from his home in March 2025. Audu said the kidnappers also abducted a woman that same night. They kept both victims in an open bush without shelter. and fed them garri mixed with swamp water.
Audu had told FIJ how the kidnappers first demanded N20 million. The victim’s family paid N5 million after three days before the kidnappers released them.
In a separate attack, kidnappers killed a security guard. They abducted a man’s mother-in-law and demanded N20 million. They later accepted N10 million. After her release, the family moved away from the community because they feared another attack.
On August 25, 2025, a seven-year-old boy was abducted from his family’s home in Ijegun, Alapere, Lagos. Reports by Channels Television and The Nation identified the suspect as 32-year-old Chigozie Clement, a painter who had been working in the family’s residence.
The police said the suspect used his access to lure the child away and locked him in a room at a secluded location. After the parents reported the child missing, police traced the suspect through phone tracking and neighbourhood surveillance. On August 27, officers raided the hideout, rescued the boy and arrested Clement.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confessed that he planned to demand N7 million for ransom. At the time, the police command said it would deploy all available resources to combat kidnapping and protect residents, especially children.
