Adeeko Ademola, a kidnap victim who miraculously escaped from the kidnappers’ den, has described his ordeal at the hands of the daredevil men, Charmingpro reports.
Ademola, a businessman who deals in fabrics and clothing materials, told Charmingpro that he was at his business premise near a popular sawmill in Aisegba, Ekiti, where he had been doing business for over five years, when the kidnappers arrived in the evening of Wednesday, June 8, 2022 and began shooting sporadically.
“I began to hear sporadic shootings, and people were running helter-skelter for their dear lies.” Even I had to flee for my life, unaware that the kidnappers had strategically placed themselves throughout the area. They had already laid siege to the area where I was fleeing. So, upon seeing them, I fell and, unfortunately, was caught.
“I was the first person they apprehended and took away. Looking back, I now realize that one Hausa man involved in the timber business was also kidnapped. They shot that Hausa man to death along the way in less than ten minutes. I then questioned one of them about why they killed the man.
“He told me that they killed the guy because he complained about being unable to trek and not having enough money.” Three times, I heard gunshots. They told me that if I cooperated, I would be able to return to my family in peace, but if I didn’t, they would kill me like they did the Hausa man.”
Adeeko went on to say that the kidnappers, who were seven in number and four of them armed with an AK-47, took him to an unknown location in the forest where they trekked for over eight hours in the bush.
“We had to come to a halt inside one cocoa plantation around 3 p.m. the next morning.” The area was overgrown, as if the owner of the cocoa plantation had abandoned it for ten years. They had now tied my hands and legs behind my back inside that cocoa plantation.”
The victim revealed his ordeal, saying, “It wasn’t a smooth journey at all.” Walking barefoot in the bush for over 48 hours with serious beatings every second without food or water. When I was apprehended, they stripped me of everything found on me. They took my phone, some of the clothes I sell, and all of the money found in my pockets. Around 3 p.m., they called me and asked what network I used, and I told them I used both MTN and GLO.
“They then used my phone to contact my family despite the unstable network in that forest.” While calling my family, they began to beat me again so that my family could hear how I was being tortured and feel the pains I was experiencing. During all of this, they actually demanded a hundred million naira ransom.
“I began pleading with them, telling them that I am just a petty trader, that if I had such money, I would have run a standard boutique rather than moving around selling clothes.” They were adamant about collecting the hundred million naira.
“I begged them to accept two million naira, but they refused.” The gang’s leader stated that they are seven in number, excluding some other people who were his partners in the deal. He stated that those individuals would each receive an equal share of the funds. They later turned off my phone, and we resumed our journey.
“As God would have it, the seven of them fell asleep on the third day while still in their midst, and I escaped.” “That’s how God delivered me,” said the victim.
