In this exclusive interview with Tola Gbadamosi, a businessman and farmer Olanrewaju Oyeleye, shared the harrowing details of his abduction alongside his farm manager on their way to his farm at Abo-Ashakin near Akure Airport, Akure North Local Government area of Ondo State. He recounted the terror of captivity, the struggle for survival, and the ordeal of being at the mercy of his kidnappers. Excerpt;

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Olanrewaju Oyeleye. I am a businessman and a farmer.

How long have you been a farmer?

I started about a year ago with a small portion of land. When I realised that farming could be a profitable business for me, I decided to expand. That was when I moved into mechanised farming and acquired more land in Abo-Ashakin to establish a proper farm.

Can you describe your experience of being abducted. How did it happen, and what was it like?

 On that Friday morning, as usual, I was heading to my farm to check on my workers. As I was on my way, a group of about five to six armed men ambushed me.

I didn’t know them, but from their appearance, I believed they were Fulani herdsmen. They were armed with AK-47 rifles and kept shouting at me to stop. I was driving a Toyota Camry, and it was around 10:30 a.m. I had a friend with me, who also serves as my farm manager.

At that moment, I asked him what we should do, but he had no answer. They had barricaded the road, so I tried to reverse, but they pursued us with their guns, threatening to kill us if we didn’t stop. I stopped momentarily, but then I tried to escape. However, as I attempted to flee, they opened fire on my car.

The gunshots were relentless and In fact, I lost count of how many times they fired. Despite the shooting, I kept moving, hoping to find a way out, but there was none. Eventually, they caught up with us. They dragged us out of the car and marched us into the bush.

I asked them why they were doing this, and they told me I would find out when we got to our destination. They claimed that some people in the area had provided them with information about me. I protested, explaining that I had only recently acquired the land and knew no one there. But they refused to listen.

We were forced to lie down in the bush for several hours. Later, they told us it was time to move. The five of them led us deeper into the forest, and we walked all night.

How many hours did you walk?

From evening till early morning. I have no idea of where we were, it was a dense forest, completely unfamiliar to me.

When we arrived at their camp, they told me they had heard I had money and that I was planning to invest it in my farm. They demanded ₦100 million, insisting I must pay or face death.

Can you describe their camp? What did you see?

It was an open space within the forest, almost like a desert, but surrounded by thick vegetation.

They repeatedly demanded ₦100 million. When I told them I didn’t have that kind of money, they began to beat us. They used cutlasses, striking me on my head and back for several days.

How many days were you held captive?

We were kidnapped at 10 a.m. on Friday and released on Tuesday night.

Did they give you any food?

No, they didn’t give us any food. The only thing they provided was water once. And even that was water meant for animals.

They eventually collected ₦25 million as ransom.

Can you tell us more about your experience in captivity?

It was horrific. I thought I was going to die. Every morning, without food or water, they would start hitting me with cutlasses. They would hand me a phone and force me to call my family, demanding that I tell them to bring the ₦100 million or they would kill me.

When they cut me with the machete, I truly believed my life was over. I wouldn’t wish this experience on even my worst enemy. It was traumatic.

Even now, I am still living in fear. Yesterday, as I was heading home, I was terrified. Today, stepping outside, I am still scared. If they could kidnap me in broad daylight, what could happen at night? The government must do something about this.

When the ransom was finally paid, they told my family to bring it to Ise-Ekiti. That was when I realised we had walked all the way from Abo-Ashakin, in Oba Ile, to Ise-Ekiti through the forest.

These kidnappers operate freely. They fear no one. They have their own networks and godfathers. While in captivity, we overheard their phone calls, they were speaking with their contacts outside. We heard them call someone named “Alhaji” and others, asking for supplies. They even discussed needing more guns.

Shockingly, it is our own people who are supplying them with food and other essentials. A motorbike would bring supplies to a designated point, and the kidnappers would collect them.

How do you know they were receiving supplies by bike?

We overheard their phone conversations. They didn’t care that we were listening. They even boasted about their operations.

They called themselves the Mafia. They declared, “We are Fulanis. We don’t mess around. If anyone comes with security, we will kill them, even the military.”