How I Escaped From Kidnappers’ Den, Ondo Woman Recounts Ordeal

A kidnap victim, Mrs Adefunke Ale has narrated how suspected kidnappers operating along the Ifon/Owo/Akure road have led to killing people and inflicting injury on their victims.

Mrs. Ale was kidnapped with her brother along the route notorious for kidnapping, robbery, and other heinous crimes in the Owo Local Government area of Ondo State. A first-class monarch, a former local government boss, and a police officer have been killed along the route.

Mrs. Ale, 67 said she was ambushed by eight suspected kidnappers on her way to Akure, the State capital.

She was with her brother, Mr. Yemi Ogunmolasuyi who was driving the car they were traveling with.

She explained that the kidnappers, who did not even cover their faces were armed with assault rifles.

She said kidnappers said she was their sole target so that they could collect a huge ransom from her son, Akeem Olugosi living in the United States of America (USA).

Her words “My name is Mr.s Adefunke Ale, I am 67 years old. On October 15, 2023, at about 3 pm, my brother and I were in the car on our way from Owo to Akure. We were waylaid by four kidnappers at Amurin and another set of four kidnappers were at the back of the car.

“They shot at our car and we had to park and all the car doors were open. Four of them guided me to the bush and another set of four guided my elder brother to the bush. Sighting a mud portion in the bush, I felt in it because I was extremely tired. They had to drag me and in the process, I had some wounds on my legs.

“While being dragged, one of them asked them to carry me and they had already removed my footwear and had taken my bag, which contained many valuables.

“Then the other four kidnappers took my brother away and those in charge of me attempted to carry me from the mud but could not and had to let me down, they made another attempt but also failed and one of them was about to shoot me but the other three asked him not to do so.

“They asked me if I used juju and I replied that I didn’t know anything about that. In the process of further attempting to carry me again, a gunshot rented the air and they had to abandon me there and ran away but the other set had taken my brother away.

“The kidnappers told my brother that they were trailing us from Owo to purposely kidnap me so that my son abroad, Akeem Olugosi could pay them. They said they would still kidnap me again.”

Ale, who said that motorists plying the road could not wait to render any help to her, stated that it was some policemen who rescued her and took her to the hospital for medical care.

She said “I could not stand up and I had to crawl until I reached the roadside. There was a heavy traffic hold-up on the road because our vehicle had double-crossed the road. All attempts to ask for help from motorists yielded nothing and I was there for almost 30 minutes before some boys came out from the bush opposite the area.

“And I asked them to carry me but in the process, policemen arrived and I told them that the kidnappers had taken my brother away and the police said that they would carry me to their station to report. When we got to Emure-Ile Police Station, the DPO there asked them to quickly take me to the Federal Medical Centre in Owo ( FMC) for medical treatment.

“On getting to FMC, I was told to get a card but I told them that all my belongings in the car had been taken away by the kidnappers and the police took me again to a hospital in Akure where I was treated,” she said.

According to her, her brother spent six days with the kidnappers because they initially asked for N100 million as a ransom

According to her “We began to beg them for reduction because they even threatened to shoot him if the ransom was not paid. On the 5th day night, they asked us to bring N3 million with a lot of cartons of malt, cartons of milk, packs of cigarettes, rice, and meats including airtime recharge cards. They were calling my husband’s phone to ask for their demands.

“Then, on the sixth day, we took the money and the requested items to give them. We were kidnapped at Amurin on Owo/Akure Road but it was in Ise-Ekiti in Ekiti State that they released my brother inside a bush.

“They counted the money to ensure it was complete and they even opened some of the cans of malt to drink and they started shooting sporadically into the air. They did not release any of my belongings that they took away.

“We reported the incident to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of Police in Akure and the Ondo State Security Networks Corp codenamed: Amotekun also tried their best. Immediately, the incident happened, they had to comb the bush for a search.”

She enjoined the government at all levels to find a lasting solution to the menace of kidnapping on Nigerian roads, saying that she was encumbered by fear to travel since the incident.

Her words “I want government at all levels to ensure that prevalent and constant kidnapping is addressed and stopped. Owo Road has become a snare because of kidnappers. I can’t go home again because I am afraid of this. I’m afraid to go to Owo. There was a funeral of a relative recently but I could not go because of fear on the road.”