A hairstylist, Elizabeth Arowojolu, has recounted her harrowing survival story after escaping from an armed kidnapping gang along the Benin-Ore Expressway.
Arowojolu was among 16 commuters abducted during a violent highway ambush before taking a daring leap for freedom under the cover of darkness.
The ambush on the Benin-Ore Expressway
The incident occurred on September 13 around 5:00 PM. Arowojolu had boarded a commercial bus at Ogheghe on the Sapele Bypass Road in Benin City, Edo State, heading toward Lagos to visit a friend.
As the bus passed Ore in Ondo State, near an area locally known as “Step-down,” heavily armed men trapped the vehicle.
“I was scrolling through my phone when I suddenly heard loud noises from vehicles ahead,” Arowojolu recalled. “Our driver tried to lock the doors, but the attackers smashed the side mirror, severely beat him, and forced the doors open.”
The gang—consisting of four assailants armed with guns, cutlasses, and heavy sticks—ordered all passengers out at gunpoint. They merged the bus occupants with victims abducted from an intercepted private car, bringing the total number of hostages to 16.
Assault and forced march into the bush
Before forcing the victims into the dense forest, the kidnappers collected their mobile phones in a large bag. Arowojolu, who was carrying multiple devices, managed to conceal one phone inside her trousers.
During the initial assault, one of the gunmen struck her near her eye with the butt of a gun, briefly knocking her unconscious.
The hostages were forced on a gruelling two-hour march deep into the Ondo forest reserve as night fell. The abductors repeatedly ordered the group to run, threatening to shoot anyone who lagged behind or attempted to flee.
The midnight escape
The turning point came late at night after the hostages were ordered to sit in a tight circle with their hands behind their heads.
While two of the abductors stepped away—distracted by movement in the surrounding bush—a fellow male hostage began covertly signalling to others to prepare to run.
When three male captives suddenly made a break into the dark thicket, Arowojolu immediately joined them.
“I was the only woman who escaped with the men,” she said. “The kidnappers started firing shots into the air and screaming that they would kill us, but we kept running zigzag through the dark bush without stopping.”
Rescue by local farmers
The group navigated the thick wilderness throughout the night until about 6:00 AM, when they reached the outskirts of a farming settlement. By 9:00 AM, after spotting cultivated cassava and palm trees, they encountered a local farmer and children.
The villagers provided the exhausted escapees with food, water, and shelter. Because Arowojolu’s remaining phone lacked a SIM card, local residents at Narowi Junction near Ore provided Wi-Fi access, enabling her to contact her family via WhatsApp.
She eventually travelled safely to her grandmother’s residence in Ugbobazua, Edo State, where she received medical treatment for facial injuries and body lacerations.
Gratitude and public awareness
Reflecting on her ordeal—which coincided with her birthday on September 29—Arowojolu expressed deep gratitude for surviving what could have been a fatal abduction.
Addressing reactions to a video she posted on social media detailing her escape, she stressed that her main goal was to raise public awareness about security risks along major Nigerian transit corridors.
“Taking that risk saved my life,” Arowojolu said. “I pray for those who are still held captive in the bush. I want Nigerians to know the reality of what victims and their families go through.”
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