A National Youth Service Corps member, Rofiat Lawal, who was abducted along the Benin-Ore Expressway last Tuesday, has disclosed that her abductors threatened to marry and take her to Sokoto if her family refused to pay a ransom.
Narrating her ordeal in captivity, Rofiat said the abductors, who are Fulani, took her NYSC uniform and wore it.
It would be recalled that Rofiat was abducted on her way to her place of primary assignment in Oyo State while coming from Edo State.
The bandits demanded a ransom of N20m which they later reduced to N5m after several negotiations.
Rofiat’s friend, Agbakwara, who initially publicised her plight, took to Facebook on Saturday to announce her release following payment of N1.1m to an account purportedly belonging to a family of another kidnapped victim.
In an interview with the Punch, on Sunday, Rofiat recounted that the kidnappers waylaid the vehicle she boarded along the Ore area of the expressway and kidnapped six of the 10 passengers in the bus.
She narrated that they were herded into a bush along the expressway.
Rofiat said her all the valuable items such as money and mobile phones found on the passengers were taken from them.
She said her NYSC uniform was confiscated and worn by one of the kidnappers.
Rofiat recalled that they trekked for seven hours on the first day they were abducted before they were allowed to rest.
She said, “On our way coming from Benin to Ore, they stopped our vehicle. I was sitting at the front and what I heard was gunshots. When I raised my head, I saw three people with guns in front of the vehicle and three people at the back. The driver tried to escape but he could not. So, they asked us to lie down and took six of us.
“They led us into the bush, searched us and collected our phones and money. Some of the victims were market women and they collected all their money, which ranged from N600,000 to N1.2m and so on, but I was with N15,000, which they took from me. One of them took my NYSC uniform and wore it.
“After they collected our valuables, we trekked from 3 pm to 10 pm in the bush. During the day, they would ask us to sit somewhere in the forest and at night, they would ask us to start trekking. That was how we spent the four days with them.”
Rofiat recalled that some victims, mostly elders and traders, were beaten on several occasions during the four days of captivity.
Responding to a question, Rofiat said they did not torture her compared to what was done to others.
“One of them said he would marry me and take me to Sokoto if my family refused to pay ransom. I was less harassed, unlike the other victims who were older than me. I was the youngest among those of us who were kidnapped. They did not even know if I was a corps member or not, they were just concerned about the money they wanted to get from us.
“I don’t know the total ransom that the six of us kidnapped paid as ransom. Some paid N2m, N3m and so on, depending on how your family negotiated.”
She said the kidnappers fed on gari (cassava flakes) which they gave to their victims on a few occasions.
“They carried a cooler with them which was stored with garri. That was what they gave us on a few occasions.
“They were prepared for the operation and it does not seem like that was their first time doing it.
“The NYSC authority has reached out to me. The State Coordinator and my Local Government Inspector have called to check up on me. My appeal is that they should give me some days to rest and get medical attention because of the traumatic experience I have gone through for the four days.
“I do not regret participating in the NYSC because what will happen will happen. Others whom we were kidnapped together were not NYSC members,” she concluded.
Rofiat thanked her family for raising the ransom and getting her out of captivity.
