‘I, with co-captive, was made to trek from Ondo to Ekiti State’

We’re deploying hi-tech devices to track kidnappers, others —Aiyedatiwa

By Tola Gbadamosi

A businessman and farmer, Mr Olanrewaju Oyeleye, has narrated his harrowing experience in the hands of kidnappers who abducted him on the way to his farm, in Abo-Ashakin, Akure North local government area of Ondo State.

Adding to the trauma, the abduction occurred on the same day his wife gave birth to twins; a moment that should have been filled with joy but was instead overshadowed by terror.

Oyeleye, who spent five days in captivity, described the ordeal as a nightmare he would not wish for his worst enemy.

He bared it all in an exclusive interview with The Hope, at the weekend.

He recounted how the assailants, whom he identified as armed Fulani herdsmen, ambushed him and his farm manager on a Friday morning around 10:30 a.m, recently.

“I was driving my Toyota Camry when I  suddenly found the road barricaded by five to six armed men wielding AK-47 rifles.

“They shouted at me to stop, but I attempted to reverse. Before I could react further, they opened fire on my car. The gunshots were relentless, I lost count of how many times they fired,” Oyeleye said.

“Realising I could not escape, I eventually surrendered.

“The kidnappers dragged me and my companion into the dense forest, forcing us to walk all night to an unknown location,” a visibly shaken Oyeleye recalled.

According to him, his captors claimed they had inside information about his finances and demanded ₦100 million as ransom.

When he pleaded that he did not have such money, they subjected him to brutal beating.

“They used cutlasses on my head and back for days. Every morning, they would start hitting me, then handed me a phone and forced me to call my family members, demanding the money,” he said.

“The kidnappers, who referred to themselves as ‘the Mafia’, boasted that they feared no one, not even the military.”

Oyeleye and his fellow captive overheard their captors making phone calls to some persons, including an individual named “Alhaji,” to arrange for supplies and discuss the procurement of more weapons.

Shockingly, he discovered that locals were aiding the criminals.

Supplies were delivered via motorbikes to designated points within the forest, where the kidnappers collected them.

“They don’t operate in isolation. They have a network and godfathers,” he intoned.

“After days of starvation, my captors provided only water once, which was unfit for human consumption and these are people my family managed to negotiate the ransom down to ₦25 million with, which was delivered to Ise-Ekiti, revealing the shocking distance he had been forced to walk from Abo-Ashakin, Oba Ile, through the forest.

Even after his release, Oyeleye said he remained traumatised and fearful.

“Yesterday, as I was heading home, I was terrified. Today, stepping outside, I am still scared. If they could kidnap me in daylight, what could happen at night?” He lamented.

He called on government at all levels, especially the federal government, to overhaul the security architecture, equip agencies with modern technology, and strengthen community policing, even as he  advocated swift justice, arguing that the impunity enjoyed by kidnappers only emboldens them.

Reacting to emerging security challenges in Ondo State, however, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa last week, assured residents that his administration was taking proactive measures to address the menace.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Akure, the governor said, “The protection of lives and property is the primary duty of any government, and that is what our administration is focused on.”

He highlighted ongoing efforts to equip security agencies, including the police and Amotekun Corps, with better intelligence tools, surveillance equipment, and logistics support.

“We are working closely with security agencies to improve response times and ensure the safety of our communities.

“Our administration is also making plans to procure advanced security gadgets to bolster operations across the state,” Aiyedatiwa added.

The governor thus urged residents to support government’s efforts, emphasising that security is a collective responsibility.