EXCLUSIVE: We Were Tortured To Pressurise Our People For Ransom – Kidnapped Victim Narrates Experience
Thursday November 2nd, 2023, at about 6.10am, I set out on brief journey from Ibadan to Abuja to attend the retirement and thanksgiving service of one of the directors of my organisation and an uncle of mine, which was to take place the following day Friday 3rd November, 2023.
Unknowing to me that I will never get to my destination. After a long stay at the park of ToyKik Transport Company, Samonda, Ibadan, the vehicle, a Sienna space bus set out around 8.30am with 5 passengers and picked 2 others along the way, making 7 passengers with the driver in the vehicle.
A little movement after Akure, the left back brake pads of the vehicle developed a fault and we took like 30-45 minutes to fix the brakes and we continued with the journey .
After a long stretch of rough roads within Ondo State, we entered Kogi State through the Akoko side of Ondo State and this time on a relatively smooth road but the speed of the vehicle was not like that of a traveler and we felt the driver was being cautious because of his brakes.
At about 4.30pm that day, we were moving towards Kabba in Kogi State when some gun men, all dressed in black overall and masked up sprang out the bush into the road placing one armed man far off our vehicle and our driver who was already on a reduced speed could not manoeuvre (which I believe was intentional).
Our space bus and the salon car following us could not escape while the 18-seater bus following the car manoeuvred and escaped. From our vehicle, we were asked to lie down as 4 of the 7 passengers and our driver as well as 3 passengers from the car following us were matched into the bush; all that were matched to the bush were all males.
At this point, it became clear to us that we have been kidnapped. Like after 2 minutes of walk into the bush by 7 gunmen, our driver was asked to go back and 7 victims were matched further into the bush. Our phones and valuables were collected while the kidnappers pick our phones from the vehicle for some of us that dropped it.
On getting into the bush, some tried to run away but we could not as the kidnappers were more conversant with the environment than us the victims that are probably having such experience for the first time. We were often asked to lie down, facing the ground and anytime they noticed people’s movement in the bush, and they beat to weaken us.
The first night in the bush, they started profiling us through our phones and threatening to kill if we refuse to pay 100 million naira each as ransom (if I am worth 100m, will I be on the roads that are death traps to Nigerians?) Like 4 or 5 of us were really their targets while others could not be profiles as they did not have smart phones. Also, our physical structures were also points of reference to how financially viable one is.
We moved from one location to another in the middle of the night in the bush and by this time, they have collected our shoes and all the valuables on everybody. So, we were clearing our paths in the dark bear footed. We roamed the bush till early hours of the following morning before they ordered to sleep right there in the jungle while they too surrounded us to prevent anyone from escaping.
The kidnappers allowed us to rest after a long walk or anytime they noticed people’s movement, we were always lying facing the ground (they call it “marry the ground”), as this position gave them access to beat us on the back with their “sonda” as they will.
It was on the second day the victims started making calls to their loved ones of course under the strict supervision of at least two of the kidnappers, while others watch over the victims that were not making calls. Every victims took turns to calls while the kidnappers demanded for 100 million ransom each from our loved ones.
These were how negotiations started and we the captives were tortured so that we could tell our people outside to hurry and make money available. We were also beaten and tortured if our people say anything unpleasant, something like, no money, we can only raise 1 million naira (you will see them asking if it is for recharge cards), even you dare not speak in the language they don’t understand (the official languages were Pidgin, English and Hausa).
The inadequate food, beaten and other inhumane treatments weakened everyone by the second day and this made the victims to be concerned with survival and how to get our loved ones outside to gather the money for ransom.
Now to the torture, a plank will be placed on my neck as one of the kidnappers will sit on the plank and rock the plank on my neck for a period of about 45 minutes to 1 hour, my arms and legs became numbed for hours and at times, I would not be able to pick anything with my hands the following day. I had such treatment and torture for like 3-4 different occasions before I was released after ransom was paid.
Of all the 8 victims, Feranmi, a graduate going to Abuja NYSC orientation camp was the first to secure his release after negotiating a ransom of 10 million Naira, followed by Ayo with a ransom of 8.9 million Naira.
Feranmi was first to leave the jungle on the following Monday, Ayo’s people came for his release and he was released alongside another guy, a bricklayer going to Abuja for a job, who was graciously released as he did not have any relatives to call expect his aged mother, who neither understand English or Hausa languages.
The next set of victims to leave on the Wednesday were Mr Ayuba and his colleague who work for Sharia Court in Abuja.
As relatives of these people were coming to pick them upon release, the kidnappers always demanded them to come with narcotics, food from designated fast food joints, carton of milk, packs of energy drinks etc, all of which were not to be taken from the ransom.
At this point, I was no more invited into the negotiation as the commandant of the gang, who was not always in the jungle with us had instructed the other gang members in the jungle to collect whatever ransom that is available but the kidnappers in the jungle were still pushing for more.
At about 2.30pm on Thursday, after a ransom of 5 million Naira have been negotiated, they had called my relatives to bring the ransom to Ibilo in Edo State, their release outlet, which is a stone throw to a military check point along the expressway.
At this point, we were just 3 victims remaining, myself, a guy from Ibilo whose family was also on their way with his ransom and another guy (Alfa) whose family could not agree on selling his property to raise money for his release.
At about 7pm without food, we set on a about 5-6 hours trek to Ibilo, which means we got to Ibilo around 11pm -12am but my people could not arrive until around 2am because of bottlenecks of cash collection in the banks and the mis-direction by the kidnappers.
But with the help of the other people who came to pay ransom for their man, my people were able to get to the release outlet by 2am or thereabouts.
The transactions, from taking the money to the bush to counting and checking if it was complete and moving out of the jungle took about 1 hour and I was eventually released with the other two.
Ope Ogunsina
From Ibadan, Oyo state
