Men accused of kidnap attempt in Victory Estate in viral video are visitors –Police

The police in Lagos have dismissed the viral report of a kidnapping attempt in Victory Estate, Okota, Lagos, saying the men were there to visit a friend.

A video circulated widely on social media showing three men being tortured and interrogated by some residents of Victory Estate in the Okota area of the state.

In the video, the men, who can be seen cowering in fear of being hit, claimed they were in the estate to abduct someone and that they would not do it again.

The police are now saying that the men were legitimately in the estate to visit their friend when they had an altercation with a tricycle operator which became violent and ultimately led to the three men being accused of being on a mission to abduct a resident.

In a statement released in Lagos, the spokesperson of the state’s police command, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, held a fact-finding meeting with the Chairman, Chief Security Officer, two other residents of Victory Estate and one of the men alleged in the video.

“After an extensive interview, it has been undisputedly proven that the three (3) men in the video are not kidnappers and there was no kidnapping incident at the Estate. The Chairman of the Estate Association told the CP that the people are not kidnappers, so also the Chief Security Officer and another Security Committee member equally told the CP that the three (3) men are not kidnappers and that there was no kidnapping incident at the Estate as seen falsely spread in the social media.

It is concluded that the video is false, misleading and malicious to cause fear and apprehension in the Estate. The men had indeed gone to see their friend (who was also present at the CP’s meeting) at the Estate at about 10pm on Monday, February 17, 2025. An altercation between the three (3) men and a tricycle rider degenerated into pandemonium and confusion in the Estate at that time.”