We endured four hellish days in Ondo kidnappers’ den – NYSC members

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, as travellers traversed a major road along Omi Alafa Village in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, armed men in a commando-like style jumped out from the thickets, shooting sporadically at vehicles.

Confused and stricken by fear, several inter-state bus drivers frantically stopped at safe distances.

However, a particular bus that had its two front tyres riddled with bullets swayed dangerously at high speed.

As it stopped abruptly a few inches from where a barricade had been mounted, angry, gun-wielding men swooped on the passengers.

Based on reports, some of the travellers, including four National Youth Service Corps members, one artisan and four others, were marched deep into the forest. The corps members, it was gathered, were returning from the NYSC orientation camps in Enugu and Abia states, respectively, after a three-week stay.

While two travellers escaped unhurt, the driver and the passenger beside him were unlucky, as they were shot, and their bullet-riddled bodies left slouched against the doors.

As news of the kidnap spread, families ran helter-skelter to raise the ransom of N1m for each of the victims as demanded by the abductors.

Four days later, the bandits released five victims following the payment of N5m ransom.

Among those freed was Patience Andrew, who appeared frail and sick from walking barefooted for kilometres and without food for days.

The traumatised young man described the four-day experience in the den of the bandits as horrible and hellish. He said they were viciously beaten with knives and sticks by their abductors and given only garri and dirty water to eat once a day.

Recounting his experience, a visibly shaken Andrew said, “We boarded a bus from Abia State to Onitsha, but our driver was not driving fast enough. At Onitsha, one of the drivers took us to where we boarded a vehicle going to Akure.

“Despite boarding the bus by 2pm, we didn’t leave Onitsha until about 5pm. We were nine passengers. It was when we got to Ondo State around 10pm that the incident happened. After forcing us to stop, the armed men flashed torchlights at the driver, and he said, ‘Oga, I no see you.’

“Immediately he said that, they shot him and the woman sitting next to him, and they died on the spot. One man was cut with a cutlass. We don’t know what happened to him because he ran away. Then they brought us out of the vehicle and marched us into the forest. We trekked from past 10pm till around 7am the following day. The kidnappers were five and their age range should be around 25 years. They spoke a mixture of Hausa and Fulani languages and had an interpreter.

“We were tortured and only given garri and water once a day. At first, they demanded N30m for each person, but as the negotiation went on, they brought it down to N3m and later, N1m. We slept inside the bush throughout the day and moved only at night. At some point, we heard dogs barking and the sound of cattle in the bush; but we kept moving. We passed through farmlands but didn’t see anybody.”

One of the victims’ family members, Oluwadara Olamide, who took the ransom to the bandits in the forest, also narrated how hectic it was coming up with the amount demanded and taking it to the bandits in the forest.

He said, “They gave me a location and told me to be there before 10am. I gathered the money and got to Owo at 9.30am. Before then, they warned, ‘if you bring wahala, wahala plenty here’.

“They told me to go to Ago Alhaji village, and when I got there, I called and they directed me another another village called Ago Pan. When I got there, I called the number they gave me again, and a young man came out from bush with a gun and commanded me to follow him. We walked for a while and entered the forest where some fully armed men were waiting and showed them the money in a bag. They called on other members to bring out the victims.”

This kidnap incident is among many that have taken place in the Sunshine State in recent times, particularly around border communities.

These communities specifically line the stretch of Ondo-Edo, Ondo-Ekiti, and the Ondo-Kogi borders. Residents of these communities, Saturday PUNCH gathered, have been appealing to the state government, the police, army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the paramilitary group, Amotekun, to intensify surveillance in the area.

Other kidnap incidents

In February 2024, gunmen killed the driver of an 18-seater commercial bus and abducted its passengers at the border town of Akunnu, in the Akoko North-East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Also, in May this year, bandits kidnapped some travellers in the border town of Irun Akoko, along Irun/Imesi Ekiti Road in Akoko North-West LGA.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that bandits usually come from neighbouring states to perpetrate heinous acts in Ondo and as soon as they are through, they return to their base in other states.

According to security experts, there is a need for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who is the chief security officer of the state, to collaborate with governors of Ekiti, Edo, and Kogi states, in checkmating kidnapping and other crimes in the border communities and on highways.

Reacting to the incessant kidnappings along the major road in Ondo State, a concerned group, Ondo State Youth Network, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Mr Afe Ezekiel, called on Governor Aiyedatiwa to take more drastic steps to rid the affected areas of kidnapping and other criminal activities.

While decrying the insecurity in Ifon, the headquarters of Ose Local Government Area, Ezekiel recalled the killing of the traditional ruler of the community, Oba Israel Adeusi, along the Akure-Owo-Benin Expressway in November 2020 by bandits.

He said, “The recent surge in kidnappings, including the abduction of farmers, travellers, and even National Youth Service Corps members, underscores the urgent need for action. Families are being torn apart, and the economic activities that once flourished in the affected areas are now at a standstill. The incident involving the former local government chairman, Honorable Bola Adelegbe, who remains missing despite a ransom payment, highlights the gravity of the situation.

“We demand immediate action from the state and federal governments to address this crisis. The deployment of a joint task force comprising the Nigerian Police Force’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Amotekun Corps, and the Nigerian Army is essential in the areas. Additionally, investing in technological solutions such as surveillance drones will provide a modern approach to combating these crimes. We urge Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his administration to prioritise the safety and security of Ondo State. The lack of government intervention has left communities like Ifon vulnerable and desperate. The implementation of a special security committee dedicated to resolving this issue is crucial. The government must take decisive steps to prevent future incidents.”

Securing South-West states

In 2020, the South-West governors agreed to jointly set up a security outfit, Western Security Network Agency, now known as Amotekun, to curb acts of criminality in the region. After the formation of Amotekun, crime rate in the region reduced to the barest minimum.

Amotekun was established to complement the efforts of conventional security agencies such as the police, NSCDC, the army, and the Department of State Security Service in dealing with the nefarious activities of criminals linked to herders.

Though Amotekun, in conjunction with other security agencies, has been lauded for doing well to reduce highway banditry, kidnapping, and farmers/herders’ clashes, many have wondered why the border communities in Ondo State are not effectively secured.

‘Police, Amotekun securing state’

However, the Public Relations Officer, Ondo Police Command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, while speaking with our correspondent, said the command was doing its best to tackle insecurity, particularly along the border communities. She also said measures had been put in place to achieve a crime-free state.

Odunlami added, “We have met with traditional rulers and other stakeholders and drawn out plans and strategies on how to tackle security challenges in the various communities. We are also working with police personnel attached to boundary commands to ensure proper search and questioning to avoid the influx of miscreants into the state.

“We have done strategic deployment of manpower and vehicles to all boundaries in the state in synergy with other sister agencies to monitor entry and exits into the state. Strategic deployment to bad portions of roads where vehicles must necessarily stop has been done. This is to avert kidnapping at these failed portions along the highway.”

Similarly, the Osun Commander of Amotekun, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said the paramilitary group was not relenting in its efforts to discharge its mandate of protecting the lives and property of the people.

Governor must secure lives, property – Stakeholders

Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the abduction and release of the corps members, with many insisting that the primary responsibility of securing lives and property lies with the state government. The Social Democratic Party Candidate in Ondo State, Bamidele Akingboye, accused Ondo State and the Federal Government of abandoning the expressway, noting that communities along the axis had been neglected and abandoned.

He said, “The people of Ose are facing a lot and may be pushed to the wall to take the law into their hands if the needful is not done to minimise criminality in the area and fix the roads. I rejoice with the families of the young Nigerians who were rescued by God through the police, alive. It is not common to have all kidnapped victims brought back alive, but this time, it is God’s doing.”

Also speaking, a public analyst, Mr Bayo Olaniyi, said there was a need for Governor Aiyedatiwa to be more proactive and act fast on security issues.

“As a responsible governor, all these issues are supposed to be his responsibility. He should be up and doing about it. He is the chief security officer of the state; I believe he knows what to do and should do it before the problem degenerates further.

“His predecessor, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, left behind one of the good legacies, the Amotekun creation. So, I believe this governor too should continue with it. We don’t expect anything less from him. There can’t be development in the presence of insecurity,” he maintained.