₦airaland Forum

President of the Afenifere National Youth Council, Prince Eniola Ojajuni, shares with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE his experience in the hands of kidnappers who held him captive for 12 days

A group of gunmen recently kidnapped you. Where was your destination before the incident occurred?

My destination was Abuja, and I was supposed to travel by air. Unfortunately, one of the telecommunication networks and my bank had network issues so that I couldn’t make any online payments for my flight. This happened on the 16th and 17th of February. I decided to travel by road instead.

However, on my way to Abuja, when we reached Akoko in Ondo State, after leaving a checkpoint located between Kogi and Ondo states, we were ambushed by a group of gunmen, who were Fulani.

Where did the hoodlums emerge from?

They came out of the bush. There were about 10 of them, all fully armed with AK-47 rifles. Nine of them wore military uniforms, and they were all masked. One of them, who acted as their commander, was the one negotiating with my family.

How many days did you spend in the kidnappers’ den?

I spent 12 days in captivity. There were nine victims in total: four, including me, were seized from the commercial bus that was taking me to Abuja, while five others were abducted from another vehicle. According to the information available, the driver of another vehicle sustained injuries, and some people were killed in that vehicle.

The kidnappers told us it was just a coincidence that we were kidnapped because they were only targeting a popular transporter bus.

Did they explain why they were targeting the company’s buses?

They didn’t tell us, and we didn’t dare to ask them, given the situation we found ourselves in. We were already overwhelmed by fear and anxiety.

What did the kidnappers say when they accosted the vehicle you were travelling in?

They said, “Move, move!” and ordered us out of the vehicle. When they emerged from the bush, they started shooting sporadically at our vehicle. They shot about 19 bullets at the vehicle. That’s how some of the bullets hit my buttocks.

What happened afterwards?

After we were ordered out of the vehicle, we were marched into the bush. Some of the kidnappers immediately realised that I had sustained gunshot injuries and suggested I should be allowed to go. But one of them refused, saying they had checked my phone and seen my details, concluding that I was a “big man.”

But I insisted I wasn’t a big man. They checked my account and saw that I only had N12,000 in it. They asked me if I wanted to continue the journey into the inner part of the bush or be killed. I told them I was ready to continue the journey. That was how we started a long trek for hours, without food or water.

What went through your mind when you realised you had been shot?

I began to think about my children and my wife. Before the kidnappers began to shoot at our bus, the driver should have escaped with the vehicle, but he wasn’t quick enough. He stopped and cursed the people shooting without realising they were kidnappers.

When I saw them from afar, I realised they were kidnappers, even though they wore military uniforms. It wasn’t long before I noticed I had sustained bullet wounds, so I told the driver about it. I asked him to make a U-turn, but he said he couldn’t, as one of the tyres of the vehicle had already been shot.

How did you know you had been shot?

I felt cold in my body, and when I touched my buttocks, I noticed there was blood. As we walked into the bush, the kidnappers kept shouting at us to move. That was when it dawned on me that I had been abducted. That day felt like a black Monday for me. I had heard stories about kidnappings but never imagined I would be kidnapped in Ondo State, my own state. It happened just two minutes’ drive from a Nigerian military checkpoint and Amotekun spot.

There was a video in which one of your abductors pointed a gun at you while you were begging Nigerians for help. How did you manage to avoid being shot at that point?

I thought they were going to shoot me at that moment. One of them, their leader, told me that the ransom they were demanding for my release was N100m. They gave me the nickname “Injury” because I was already an injured captive.

Before then, I had negotiated N3m with them, but they disagreed, insisting it must be N100m. I was then forced to record a video, asking Nigerians to help me raise the ransom so I could be released. I had to do it because I didn’t want to die. One of them told his colleagues not to kill me when they threatened to do so. When one of them cocked his gun and aimed it at me, I lost all hope, but thankfully, he didn’t shoot.

What happened later?

I am grateful to my wife, who spoke to Nigerians about my situation, and they came to my rescue. My brother and some pastors from the Redeemed Christian Church of God also tried to help. Everybody rallied around to see how they could save my life.

What about the other victims in the kidnappers’ den with you?

Each of them contacted their family members and friends to pay the ransom. The total amount paid for our release was around N100m.

How were the kidnappers able to receive such a large sum in cash without being detected?

Kidnapping is a well-organised crime, and they collected some of the ransoms very close to the checkpoint. The first ransom was paid near Kabba Prison, at the back of Kabba. They instructed the family of the victim to stop at the checkpoint and to buy food from a woman selling near Kabba. After passing the woman, they were to drive for another five minutes to the checkpoint. In fact, the kidnappers always collected their money behind that checkpoint.

The second ransom was paid in Ikare. This was for the family of another victim from Ibadan. The family arrived, spent two days, and then dropped the money in Ikare.

For my ransom, my wife was supposed to take it to Ikare, but there was a serious tracking of my phone. When the kidnappers realised that a lot of attention was being focused on Ikare, they told me that we were going to move, and that was when they prepared some herbs for me.

What were the herbs for?

The herbs were for my bullet wounds. I drank some of the herbs and applied some to the area of my wound. After 10 minutes, I fell asleep for about an hour. I didn’t know we were going for a long journey. We started our trek through the bush at around 4:45 pm and arrived at our destination, Ibilo, at about 2.30am. We then rested.

I didn’t realise we were in Ibilo, Edo State, until the kidnappers asked me to contact my wife. She was in Akure with my younger brother. They told her to park when she reached Ibilo, near the checkpoint.

😯

dododawa1:
President of the Afenifere National Youth Council, Prince Eniola Ojajuni, shares with CHUKWUDI AKASIKE his experience in the hands of kidnappers who held him captive for 12 days

A group of gunmen recently kidnapped you. Where was your destination before the incident occurred?

My destination was Abuja, and I was supposed to travel by air. Unfortunately, one of the telecommunication networks and my bank had network issues so that I couldn’t make any online payments for my flight. This happened on the 16th and 17th of February. I decided to travel by road instead.

However, on my way to Abuja, when we reached Akoko in Ondo State, after leaving a checkpoint located between Kogi and Ondo states, we were ambushed by a group of gunmen, who were Fulani.

Where did the hoodlums emerge from?


I didn’t realise we were in Ibilo, Edo State, until the kidnappers asked me to contact my wife. She was in Akure with my younger brother. They told her to park when she reached Ibilo, near the checkpoint.

he is never HEALED, TRAUMA dey body gidigba, he NEEDS THERAPY, it not easy. sorry MOHN!

Air Flight is now crazily expensive... Road travel is now crazily dangerous!!!

No state of emergency declared in the aforementioned states?

People are kidnapped and be giving interviews like it is funny, instead of Nigerians and the press to protests that politicians, governors must sign death warrants to reduce number of kidnappers, to them it's fun and games. Docile people.