Ondo kidnap Victims Recount Ordeals, Says Driver Made their Abduction Easy
Three passengers rescued from kidnappers by men of the Ondo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps have recounted their ordeals in the forest, accusing their driver for making their abduction easy..
In their testimonies, they said their driver fled after they came down from the bus to enable it move freely at a bad portion of the road in Ifira-Akoko area.
The abductees, Benjamin Ojoga, Omolara Fajana and Faith Sunday, were handed over to their families at the Amotekun’s headquarters in Akure, the Ondo state capital.
They said the driver drove away after the kidnappers fired gunshots.
The kidnappers attacked them on Wednesday and initially abducted 13 passengers in a Lagos bound bus.
Men of the Ondo Amotekun Corps rescued nine of the victims few hours later while the remaining three were rescued on Friday night after shootout with the kidnappers.
Ojoga, said it was easy for the kidnappers to abduct them because they were not conversant with the terrain.
He said: “It was after the gunshots that the driver of the bus zoomed off which gave the kidnappers opportunity to abduct us.
“I got the injury from the beating the kidnappers gave me. They were saying that I’m a force man and I told them I’m not. But they didn’t believe me.”
Fajana said: “On getting to Ifira-Akoko, we met another bad portion and the driver told us to come down so that the bus will be lighter and to enable it to move easily.
“Immediately we came down from the bus, we heard gunshots and everybody became jittery. At that moment, the bus zoomed off and the gunmen were able to pick four of us. One of us, an old woman who was limping was allowed to go but, they collected her phone.
“The incident happened around 6:30 pm. Then, they made us to walk for about three hours inside the bush. The kidnappers were speaking pigin English and they looked like herdsmen.”
Ondo Amotekun Commander, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said efforts were on to apprehend the kidnappers.
He said: “After we were able to secure the release of the first nine, Amotekun operatives still continued to comb the forest which is so massive. It is the same forest that extends to some parts of Kogi State.
“We started tracing them and once they started maintaining contact with the victim’s families, we also commenced tracking up to the point we now gave them very hot chase and we were able to secure their release.
“For now, we have not made any arrest but we are tracking and working on them. We are actually working on the situation alongside the DSS, Police. It is a synergy of all security agencies, we are just taking the lead.”
– The Nation
