Released Corps Members Detail Their Harrowing Kidnapping Experience

Four recently released National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members have shared the harrowing details of their four-day ordeal in captivity in Ondo State. The corps members were abducted along the Ifon-Owo highway while returning from their orientation camp in Enugu State.

The group, which included Adewole Paul Oluwaseun, Oluwadara Feranmi, Andrew Patience, Oribamise Taiwo, and Ajayi Lekan, faced a traumatic ordeal marked by violence and deprivation. During the abduction, the driver of their vehicle and a female passenger were killed. One of the abducted individuals was reportedly butchered while attempting to escape.

In a somber account given in Akure, the victims described being tortured and fed only dirty water and gari. Patient Andrew, one of the released corps members, recounted the ordeal: “We were taken into the bush and trekked for nine hours from past 10 p.m. until around 7 a.m. the next day. Our captors, who spoke Hausa/Fulani and included an interpreter, were young and wore military uniforms.”

Initially, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of N30 million per person, which was later reduced to N1 million per person after negotiations. The ransom was delivered alongside requested items including food and drinks, under stringent conditions set by the kidnappers.

Oluwadara Olamide, a relative of one of the victims who delivered the ransom, detailed the process: “I was instructed to deliver the money and supplies to specific locations and warned not to involve security. After navigating several locations and handing over the ransom, the captives were eventually released.”

The release came after intense efforts by the state police, who applied continuous pressure on the kidnappers. According to police spokesperson Funmi Odunlami, “The tactical squad, led by ACP Olufemi Awoyale, mounted relentless pressure on the kidnappers, forcing them to abandon the victims at Oyinbo/Sanusi Camp.”