One of the victims of last Friday’s abduction on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has informed her family that the bandits have started butchering some of the abductees.
Recall that armed bandits struck around Dominion University part of the Lagos Ibadan Expressway on Friday, abducting an unspecified number of travellers.
Some of those abducted have now been identified as a 25-year-old final-year student of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ogun State, Oluwatobiloba Orekoya, and her sister, Aminat, a graduate awaiting NYSC call-up.
Also identified as kidnapped was the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Adigun Agbaje.
The bandits want N50 million ransom for the professor, while they want N10 million each for the two sisters abducted.
In a telephone conversation with their family, one of the abducted girls said some of those kidnapped had been butchered when their family members who negotiated their ransoms were ‘being unreasonable’.
She pleaded with her mother to do whatever she could to raise the sum being demanded.
Their elder sister, Oluwaseyi, relayed this information to the Punch in an interview. Oluwaseyi also confirmed that the kidnappers are Fulani herders as her mother conversed with them in Fulfulde.
She said the sisters were going to Ibadan for a birthday party when they were kidnapped.
Narrating their ordeal, she said: “I am their elder sister. My name is Oluwaseyi Ashoba. I am based in Abeokuta, Ogun State, but my parents are in Mowe. Both my sisters, Aminat and Oluwatobiloba, who were kidnapped, live in Abeokuta. I am 28 years old. I am a businesswoman. I sell foodstuffs.
Yesterday (Friday, October 28, 2022), one of Tobiloba’s friends invited both of them to a birthday party in Ibadan. So, they started preparations to attend the party. Tobiloba would be 25 by next month, whereas Aminat is around 22. So, they are not young children, and it wasn’t unusual for them to be invited to parties. I remember that around 3pm or so, they both went out to fix their nails and eyelashes and other things, getting set for the party. At about 5pm or so, they left Abeokuta for Ibadan. They told me that they had left. I was fully aware when they left. I was there when their friends called and were telling them that they were already running late and they said they were on their way. From Abeokuta to Ibadan is not even up to one hour under normal circumstances, so they were supposed to get there before 6pm.
I learnt that when they got to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, there was an accident involving two suspected Yahoo boys. The accident was fatal, I learnt, and the road got blocked. No car could move. It was a standstill. So, Aminat and Tobi were in the bus, waiting while efforts were being made to clear the road. Some said they had called the emergency agency. It was not even up to five minutes after that stop that some Fulani herdsmen came out from the bush in their droves and attacked the travellers. We learnt from escapees that my sisters tried to escape but were later caught where they were hiding and taken into the bush. The people who told us said they really ran and hid but they were shocked at how they were caught. It seemed like the herders used black magic to locate where they were. They kidnapped many of them. They kidnapped both of them.
My brother called me yesterday (Friday) to tell me that my sisters had been kidnapped. I didn’t believe it, because it was not even up to two hours after I heard from them. How were they kidnapped just like that? I said it was not possible. I convinced myself. It was this morning (Saturday, October 29, 2022), that I saw Tobi’s classmates and everyone else posting and calling for donations into my brother’s account that I knew that we have a situation on our hands. I had to call my brother and he told me that it was true.
Yes, they have. The Fulani kidnappers called Aminat’s boyfriend with Aminat’s phone and told us that they had kidnapped Aminat and her sister, Tobi, and that we should get ready for them to call us again. That was what made us know that they were indeed kidnapped. As of this morning, my mum spoke to them in their language – because my mum understands Fulfude, having stayed in the North – and they (kidnappers) told us to bring N10m for each of them. So, for the two of them, we are to bring N20m. My mum kept begging them to release her children because the family did not have anything to give them. They simply laughed and told her to go and get the money or else they would kill the girls as they had done to many others. They told her to get off the phone and go get them that N20m, and that she should make it quick. We recorded that conversation and I can send it to you. She said she can afford N1m; they laughed and told her to go and gather money, insisting they must collect N20m from the family.
When asked how she knew they were Fulani, she said: “I said they spoke Fulfude. We even called Aminat’s number later and they still picked up and spoke only Fulfude to us. It was my mom and some other people who understand the language that interpreted to us. They demanded the ransom in their language. If they were not Fulani, what will I gain to say they are? It is not the first time they are operating on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, so we know what we are saying when we say they are Fulani herdsmen.
Yes, we have. The second time we called, they allowed us to speak to them for a minute. They were crying, shouting and begging us to do whatever we could to get them out of the kidnappers’ den. They said we should sell whatever we could and pay the kidnappers. Aminat said they had killed some people beside them and the killing was still on. She said if the kidnappers call the family of the captives and they are not being reasonable, they will just butcher them. It is not a joke at all. It sent chills down my spine. They had hardly finished talking when the kidnappers dragged the phone off their hands and told us to get that money.”
