By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

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Parents of the recently kidnapped pupils of the Apostolic Faith Group of School, Emure-Ekiti, Ekiti State, and management of the school, have revealed how negotiations and journey to freedom went between them and their wards abductors.

The parents spoke with journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, shortly after the news of the freedom of their wards was broken.

One of the parents, Mr Adeniyi Jegede, whose three children were among the five victims, said all those affected went through a tedious journey before securing their release.

He explained that apart from the N15 million agreed upon during the negotiations, the kidnappers  insisted on collecting tramadol.

Other items demanded by the kidnappers, according to the parents, were jollof and fried rice to be packed in takeaway plastic containers, energy drinks, and several packets of London cigarettes.

He said all the conditions mentioned by the kidnappers were met before the schoolchildren were released in the early hours of the day.

“They warned us several times not to involve the security agents about their demands.  They  threatened to kill the pupils if they got to know that we informed the police about their demands”

On his own, the school proprietor, Mr Gabriel Adesanya, disclosed that the driver of the school who was also kidnapped alongside the teachers was killed by the kidnappers.

He explained that the late driver had refused to give the kidnappers the phone numbers of the school proprietor and his family.

The proprietor said the deceased was hit with a gun butt on his forehead several times by the abductors before he was eventually shot dead the next day.

“The corpse of the driver has not been found yet. The freed kidnapped victims said he was killed between yesterday and this morning. We cannot trace the body at the moment since we don’t know the location where they were kept. We have discussed with the police how to recover it.”

Another parent who does not want his name mentioned confirmed that he was one of those who coordinated how the ransom was gathered. His words “Ransom was paid to the kidnappers and the money raised was around the N15m they demanded. I was not the one that counted the money but it was around that amount.

“The kidnappers, who initially demanded N100m, later reduced it to N15m after several days of negotiations,” he stated.

Similarly, a middle-aged man, whose wife and son were among the kidnapped victims, said that N15 million ransom and some other items were handed over to the kidnappers in a forest before the abductees were released to them.

He said “Nine persons were kidnapped, but eight persons were released, we didn’t see the ninth person. The kidnapped persons told us after their release that the gunmen shot the driver dead.

“We had a lot of problems before we could locate the kidnappers. When we first entered the forest, we spent about two hours without seeing them. We had to go front and back before we saw the kidnappers.

“When we eventually saw them, they took us into the bush far away from where we parked the motorcycle that we took there. We gave them what they demanded and they released the kidnapped persons to us.

“We gave them N15m and the food items they asked us to buy for them – eight packs of fried rice with chicken and drinks – canned malt, tramadol, fearless energy drink, bullet energy drink, and cigarettes.

As they collected the money and the items, they said we should run away. I could not say specifically the location in the forest. The place is between Ondo and Ekiti States. We entered around Ago Panu along Owo/Ikare road in Ondo State and went deep into the expansive forest.

“When they released them to us, I embraced my family members, I thank God for the reunion, for surviving the torture and hunger.

“The kidnappers were calling persistently that we should hurry up. They said we should meet them at Ikare Junction. I wondered how it could be Ikare junction when they took the children from Eporo-Ekiti in Ekiti State. When we got to Ikare Junction, they said we should buy food.  So we went to buy rice, meat, and other things.

“At a point, they called that we should turn back and described another road. We decided that all of us should not go there so that they would not think that we came with policemen who could make them injure the abductees.

“Later, the kidnappers said that only two persons should come. They threatened to waste the kidnapped persons if more than two persons should come. So, only two persons continued while the rest of us sat on the road side there.

“The driver of the vehicle had to return at a point and two persons then used a motorbike to trace the kidnappers to drop the money and food.

“On collecting the money and food, they released the kidnapped persons, and our people used the motorbike to take them to the road, it was then they called us to bring the vehicle to convey them.

“The kidnappers collected N15m. We (parents and families) contributed N4m, people came to our aid by contributing the remaining amount.

A political leader at Eporo, who pleaded anonymity, said, “The children told us that when the kidnappers were asking for the telephone numbers of relatives, the driver told them he didn’t know the school proprietor and his wife off-hand.  This made them angry and they hit him with their gun.

“For five days, he was said to be having issues after the injury he sustained and he was shot dead on Saturday morning. It was a bitter experience for the victims, especially looking at how the driver was killed and roasted”.