Nigerians living in the south west of the country are now living in fear because of the new wave of kidnappings they are now experiencing.
Those affected are mainly motorists travelling on popular highways like Akure/Ilesa road, Ife/Ibadan road and other major roads linking Osun and Ekiti States within the region.
PMParrot checks confirmed that many cases from the Akure to Ilesa road are being reported and recorded on weekly bases.
One of the most recent experiences was reported by a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor last week.
The cleric (whose name is being withheld) informed his audience during a weekly special church programme at Apata Area of Ibadan that he spent four days in the jungle with those he described as Fulanis who kidnapped him and three others.
PMParrot here summarizes his account:
“We were on our way to Ibadan from Akure after attending a wedding there. As we entered the territory of Osun State, we got to this particular police check point where we were stopped. We were asked a few questions and asked to go. But I noticed that one of the officers was jotting down the number of our vehicle. But I dismissed the observation. And we continued our journey.
“Let me tell you here that we had not moved up to two kilometers when we heard gunshots. All the tyres of our vehicle were shot at and deflated. To cut a long story short, we were captured and taken into the forest. Time was around 5 pm on this particular Saturday.
“We were four in the vehicle, myself and another pastor with two women, our church members who also attended the wedding.
“So, they took us into the forest and we started our four-day sojurn in the wilderness. Our captors were obviously Fulani men and they spoke passable Yoruba and patches of English. They immediately told us they needed one hundred million naira as ransom.
“They made us to communicate with our people with our phones. We were beaten like goats, we were made to carry their sacks of bullets. They had at least four brand new AK47 riffles.
“Yes, they beat us up anytime we requested to urinate or begged for water. They were doing this to intimidate us. They informed us that nobody could arrest them and that they were the ‘kings of the forest’. They also hinted us that they had collaborators in the police force and other security agencies.
“I think on the second day, we got to a town in Osun State where we ran into a farmer coming from his farm on his motorcycle. He was promptly stopped and harassed. He was asked questions and he told them he was a farmer. He was shot! And his body was butchered under less than five minutes. Vital organs were removed and secured in a nylon bag. I urinated on my body just seeing this! We moved on anyway. We were told by the kidnappers that they would not lose anything with us with them. According to them, whether ransom is paid or not, they would still make money with us in their custody. They said they would give us the farmer-treatment and sell our body parts if the agreed sum was not paid promptly.
“Anyway, we were lucky, they agreed to collect two million naira for the four of us. Our people gathered the money on the fourth day and we were set free. We were just lucky. The four-day sojourn in the forest without sleeping or resting was not a joke. That we survived it was a miracle.”
In addition to this account by this Pastor, tribuneonlingng.com reported another similar case on Tuesday, November 20.
The report said a lawyer practicing in Ekiti State was among 10 people that were kidnapped last weekend allegedly by Fulani gunmen, at the Iwaraja – Efon axis of the state, a development that has raised fresh fears among the people of the state and the users of the road.
Sources said the kidnappers had attacked around three in the afternoon and had shot sporadically as they took their victims away.
A police source said the kidnappers were Fulani, and had taken to their heels when the police gave them a hot chase as they ran into the bush.
The newspaper gathered that the police had engaged the kidnappers in a gun duel, which led them to shed the number of their victims as they ran.
According to the sources, the unrelenting police pursuit and engagement of the bandits led to their release of nine of their victims, and eventually went away with one.
The one they took away is a legal practitioner named Adeola Adebayo.
The lawyer and the family were said to have been travelling from Osogbo back to Ekiti when they were attacked.
The lawyer’s father, a lawyer and Lecturer at Ekiti State University (EKSU), his mother, sister and wife were released, while he is the only person in their captivity.
According to a statement by his family, the gunmen numbering 10 had demanded the sum of N100 million ransom for his release.
Adebayo is the Secretary of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikole -Ekiti branch.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti Police Command, Mr. Caleb Ikechukwu, said a total of 10 people were abducted, saying “but upon the efforts of the officers and men of the Federal SpecialAnti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), Police Mobile Squad and the DPO of the area, nine of the victims were freed.”
Ikechukwu added that “we’ve been able to establish a link through the number the abductors were using the call the family but we cannot release details now so as not to endanger the life of the man in captivity.”
Packaged by Alice Egbedele with additional reports from tribuneonlineng.com
