Olanrewaju Oyeleye, an Ondo State based farmer who recently regained his freedom from kidnappers after spending five days in their custody has narrated his experience which ended with payment of N25 million ransom.
Olanrewaju and his farm manager were abducted at Oba-Ile, near the Akure Airport, according to THe Nation newspaper.
They were going to their farm at Abo-Ashakin, Akure North local government area of the State when the heavily armed kidnappers blocked their vehicles on the highway.
The farmer, who returned to Nigeria to start the agriculture venture said he was abducted the day his wife gave birth to twins.
According to him, he was brutalised when he initially told the kidnappers that he cannot afford more than N10m as ransom.
He also revealed that the kidnappers were making calls to various individuals demanding supplies and weapons inside the forest for their use.
He said the items were supplied, an indication that the kidnappers were not working alone.
Olanrewaju also revealed that the N25 million ransom to regain his freedom was paid to his abductors who he described as Fulani herdsmen, in Ekiti State.
While narrating his experience which he described as traumatic, Olanrewaju said, “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.
“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.”
“They used cutlasses on my head and back for days. Every morning, they would start hitting me before they gave me a phone and forced me to call my family members, demanding the money.
“The kidnappers, who referred to themselves as ‘the Mafia’, boasted that they feared no one, not even the military.”
“They don’t operate in isolation. They have a network and godfathers.
“After days of starvation, my captors provided only water once, which was unfit for human consumption. My family managed to negotiate the ransom down to ₦25 million which was delivered to Ise-Ekiti.
“I am now living in fear. 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?”
