Kidnapped Corps Members Share How they were kidnapped, freed after the payment of N5M ransom, Says Corp Members
By Segun Giwa
Five National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, who were abducted on the Ifon/Owo road in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, have detailed their kidnapping and subsequent release following a N5 million ransom payment.
The victims, identified as Oluwaseun Adewole, Feranmi Oluwadara, Patience Andrew, Taiwo Oribamise, and Lekan Ajayi, were returning to Akure after completing their orientation at the NYSC camp in Abia when they were kidnapped. Despite police claims, the corps members confirmed that N5 million was paid to their abductors, along with drinks and cigarettes, to secure their release.
Patience Andrew, speaking on behalf of the group, recounted their experience to journalists on Tuesday in Akure. Andrew explained that their vehicle was attacked shortly after passing a military checkpoint in Ifon. The kidnappers, mostly in their 20s, included one dressed in a military uniform.
According to Andrew, the driver of their vehicle stopped after one of the kidnappers signaled with a flashlight, mistaking it for another checkpoint. The driver was then shot dead, along with a woman in the front seat.
“We were coming from Abia State and reached Onitsha around 2:00 p.m. The driver delayed our departure, so we left around 5:00 p.m. When we reached Ondo State, just a few minutes from the military checkpoint in Ifon, we were ambushed. They fired a gun, and we hoped the officers at the checkpoint would hear and rescue us,” Andrew recounted.
The incident occurred around 10:00 p.m. The kidnappers did not block the road but signaled with a flashlight. When the driver expressed he hadn’t seen them, he was immediately shot twice, killing him and the woman in the front seat.
“Then they ordered us out of the vehicle and into the bush, where we trekked until morning. Despite my health condition, they did not harm me. The kidnappers spoke mostly in Hausa, with only one barely speaking English. They used one of our phones to communicate with our families about the ransom,” she explained.
Confirming their release, Ondo State Police Spokesperson Fumilayo Odunlami-Omisanya stated on Monday that, “The victims were abandoned by their assailants after the police mounted pressure on the kidnappers.”
(NAN)
