'I Spent 15 Days in Kidnappers’ Den’,Considered myself dead , Man Narrates Highway Abduction

‘I Spent 15 Days in Kidnappers’ Den’,Considered myself dead , Man Narrates Highway Abduction 

ABEOKUTA, Ogun State– Sonaike Rafiu Adebayo says he spent 15 days in captivity after armed men abducted him from a commercial bus on the Oshodi-Abeokuta highway. He was released only after his family paid a ransom.

Adebayo, a Lagos-based resident, recounted his ordeal as kidnapping cases continue to escalate across Nigeria, leaving victims and their families with harrowing experiences.

He said the incident began on June 5 when he visited his  brother and wife  for the naming ceremony of their baby in Oshodi, Lagos. 

“I was coming from Oshodi where I had visited my brother who was celebrating the birth of his baby, I was so happy  that day because the party was a  kind of reunion for many relatives that I ve seen for a very long time and It was in the course of the celebration  that I remembered I had appointments in Abeokuta the following day, it was 3:25 p.m.,” he said.

He boarded  a Space Wagon, heading to Abeokuta. There were four male passengers, two females, and the driver.

“The journey began smoothly, and I sat in the front seat with the driver,” he recalled. 

Near Sango, close to the Federal Road Safety Commission office, the vehicle hit a pothole and stopped suddenly. “The driver fixed it and we continued. The only other delay was a police stop-and-search at Ewekoro,” he said.

Approaching Lala village around 4: 21pm , Adebayo said the vehicle entered another potholes. “All of a sudden, the driver swerved. In a flash, a tyre was thrown across the road. The vehicle hit the median and we all shouted in panic.

“Five hooded men brandishing guns emerged from the roadside bush. One used the butt of an AK-47 to break my side glass. They ordered us out, searched us and marched us into the bush,” he said.

According to him, they all became jittery  in the confusion. The kidnappers blindfolded the victims  and took  them deeper into the forest.

"We were ransacked in the  bush and all valuables they found on us were collected.

The kidnappers used  our phones to get across to each of the victims' relatives one by one later in the night.

They demanded ransom, and viciously threatened to kill us if any of our contacted relatives make moves to contact the police.

After 7 agonizing days in the bush, no ransom was paid to them then.

They became furious with us , beating us and their leader again put a call across to my brother who pleaded with them that he has not been able to secure up to the 5million they demanded for.

"He called another victim relative, I think it was the driver or so, because we remained blindfolded.

From the conversation, the leader of the kidnappers got angry and he shot the victim whose family was negotiating on behalf, that victim felled on me and the the blood splattered on my body

I urinated on my self instantly, no doubt I am the next to be killed!

Adebayo said with grin of fear in his face."

Adebayo said he was held for 15 days before his family secured his release after paying a ransom of #4m.

Kidnapping for ransom has risen sharply on Nigerian highways in recent years, with victims often held for weeks in forest hideouts. Some die in captivity even after ransoms are paid.