Kidnappers Release Lagos Woman After $17,500 Ransom Payment

​Lagos, Nigeria — Mrs. Olanike Ogundare, who was abducted from her Ijedodo residence in Lagos earlier this week, has regained her freedom. Her release followed the payment of a $17,500 ransom by her family to the armed gang that seized her.

​Ogundare was snatched from her home at No. 1 Olufemi Ogundare Street, Oke Agaye, around 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Witnesses described a brazen operation where gunmen overpowered the local security guard before whisking her away.

​While the kidnappers initially demanded ₦60 million, they later insisted the payment be made in United States dollars—a tactic security experts believe was designed to evade local financial monitoring. A family source confirmed on Saturday that she was released after the dollar-denominated sum was “coughed up.”

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​Throughout the ordeal, the family worked with the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS). Local leaders, including Gani Adams of the Oodua People’s Congress, had also been mobilized to assist in the search.

​Although she has returned home, the incident has sparked renewed concern over the rising trend of dollar-denominated ransom demands in the country’s kidnapping hotspots.