₦airaland Forum

A National Youth Service Corps member, Miss Esther Akande, with Call-up No.: NYSC/IFE/2023/201810 (Batch B stream 2), who was kidnapped on Wednesday, August 16, while on her way to the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Magaji Dan Yanusa Keffi, Nasarawa State, and released on Saturday, August 19, has revealed that the sum of ₦1million was paid to secure her freedom from her abductors.

Family sources had confirmed to The PUNCH on Saturday that the kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₦1million, adding that the police were nonchalant about the situation, while the NYSC urged the family to play along and pay the ransom.


However, Miss Esther in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, gave the full details of her abduction and subsequent release.

Esther said, “I was on my way to camp there, because our bus, our car (driver), actually handed us over to another car (driver) at Lokoja. So, he dropped us off. So we entered another car and continued the journey from there. As we were about to enter, I think, Abaji, these people, we just met them on the road, asked us to stop.

“They started shooting the car, and before we knew it, the driver was shot. The person beside him was shot also. So I think the driver was shot in the head. The other person was shot and he died on that spot immediately. So we were tried to escape from the car because the car actually turned upside down and smoke was coming out of it.