Isaac Gbolade Agbanigo, a kidnap victim, has narrated his ordeal that the hands of his abductors during the four days he was held in captivity.

WUZUPNIGERIA reports that Agbanigo, a farmer from Ikere Ekiti was kidnapped on 3 April 2021 on his farm at Igbo Oru, around Ikere-Ise Road. He spent four days in the kidnappers’ den and was released after a ransom payment.

Narrating the circumstances of his kidnap, the 60+ years old said he attempting to change a deflated tyre of his car after the end of the day’s job on his farm when seven men, five of whom were armed with AK-47 rifles, suddenly emerged from the forest and overpowered them.

“My younger wife, five children and my worker finished our work for the day on the farm at about 4 pm.  On getting to the place where I parked my vehicle, I discovered that the tyre on the driver’s side had deflated. I was trying to change the tyre when seven men suddenly appeared from the bush. Five of them were armed with AK-47 rifles, while one had a sheathed machete. They ordered us to lie face down. They collected our phones and the money on us. They collected N5,000 from me and N5,000 from my worker. They smashed my wife’s phone to the ground after collecting it,” he said in a THE PUNCH interview.

“Later, one of them asked me what I would give them, but I replied that they had collected everything I had on me. They repeated the question, and when my response was consistent, they asked whether they should come to collect the money the following day. But I reminded them that it was weekend.  Then, one of them said they would have to hold on to either me or my wife, pending when ransom would be paid. But before I could say anything, they freed my wife, children and the worker, while I remained on the ground, lying face down. After my people had left, the gunmen asked me to stand up and began to lead me into the bush.

“We kept moving in the bush till we got to a hut at about 7.30pm and we stayed there till about 10.30pm. They ate garri at the hut; they asked whether I would take garri, but I declined. It was at the hut that they started torturing me. They tied my hands behind my back, blindfolded me and started flogging me. They asked me how much I had in my bank account and I told them my account balance. They said I was lying, insisting that my account balance should be more than that. I asked them to check my account balance on my phone. It was at that point that they said I would have to bring N100m to secure my release, but I told them that it would be extremely difficult for my family to raise even N200,000. They said I had a house, vehicle and other properties which could be sold to buy my freedom. Later, they untied my hands and removed the blindfold. We left the hut at about 10.30pm and moved to Ikere-Ise Road and crossed to the other side of the road. We trekked farther into the forest till about 12 midnight before they retired to sleep. The following morning, at about 4.30pm, we began the journey again. That was how we kept moving.”

Agbanigo said his captors spoke “either Hausa or Fulfulde” though they also speak Pidgin English and – whenever they wanted to discuss with him – some of them spoke the Yoruba Language.

He added that his family borrow the funds that was paid as ransom to his kidnappers. Though the farmer refused to reveal the actual amount paid for his freedom, he, however, said they initially demanded N100m, reduced it to N50m before an agreement was reached.

He said, “They demanded N100m and I told them that my family would not be able to afford more than N200,000. They continued to torture me, asking me to go and sell my property to meet their demand. Later they reduced it to N50m, which I said was impossible. Later on, after we reached an agreement, they stopped torturing me.”

He added, “My family borrowed the funds and we still don’t know how we are going to pay back. My wife, my sibling’s wife and my friend took the money to a location along the Ise Ekiti-Ijan Ekiti Road named by the abductors. As network was poor, they had to climb a tree to be able to make a phone call.  After being told by my family that the money was ready, the kidnappers told them to bring the money at about 6.30pm.

“The kidnappers gave me a stern warning not to involve the police or military because they would waste my life. So, at every opportunity I had to speak with my family, I pleaded with them not to bring in the police, soldiers or Amotekun because of my life.”

When asked how much ransom was paid, he said, “We thank God for freedom. We thank God for good health and we thank God for life. These have more value than what they collected as ransom.”