Olabode Adekunle, a victim of kidnappers along Lagos Ibadan expressway has used his experience to pass a disturbing message to Nigerians who regularly ply the route. He gave reasons Nigerians should not stop if ever their vehicles break down on the popular highway.
As a matter of fact, they should not give it a second thought before taking to their heels and run for their lives, he reasoned.
Adekunle, a photographer explained to Saturday punch how he was saved from the kidnappers after his family was able to raise the sum of 2 million out of the 10 million naira ransom demanded by the criminal group who kidnapped him.
Sharing his ordeal, he narrated how he was escorting his brother to the airport from their residence in Magboro. His brother who was returning to the United Kingdom needed to catch up with his flight scheduled for 7am.
Due to the enduring traffic on the expressway, they had to leave home as early as 3:30am so as to beat the traffic and catch up with the flight schedule.
While his brother was going in one vehicle driven by a driver in the front, he was coming behind with his cousin in another car. While on motion, he had a flat tyre and decided to park and see if he could manage the car under the condition or change the tyre.
After returning to the seat and attempted to drive off, the hoodlums surfaced from nowhere and descended on him. They hit, broke the driver side’s windscreen and forcefully dragged him out. At that point, his cousin on the other side had ran out and escaped from the scene.
He was consequently overpowered by the gang who threw him down the bridge where other gang members were already waiting to receive him.
From there, they led him into the deepest part of the bush which took them about two hours walk on barefoot before getting to an uncompleted building where they strategize and perpetrate their nefarious acts.
According to him, the boys are very young in age. The eldest of them should be about 23 years old. He said on getting to their hideout, they didn’t speak to him for several hours when they got there but later, they told him he had been kidnapped.
After he was mercilessly beaten, they gave him a phone to speak to his parents so they could know he was in distress. The kidnappers demanded for 10 million naira ransom. They eventually settled for 2 million naira which was paid the following day before he was released.
Adekunle stated that the boys have a good knowledge of the road and they strike at every given opportunity. He advised Nigerians to be wary of the road. Once you have a broken down vehicle, leave it and run for your dear life. He cautioned.
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