A Nigerian businessman and farmer, Olanrewaju Oyeleye, has narrated his harrowing ordeal after he was abducted by suspected Fulani herders on the way to his farm, in Abo-Ashakin, Akure North local government area of Ondo State.
Speaking with Ondo State-owned newspaper, Hope at the weekend, Oyeleye revealed that he was abducted on the same day his wife gave birth to twins; a moment that should have been filled with joy but was instead overshadowed by terror.
Oyeleye, who spent five days in captivity, described the ordeal as a nightmare he would not wish for his worst enemy.
He recounted how the assailants, whom he identified as armed Fulani herdsmen, ambushed him and his farm manager on a Friday morning around 10:30 a.m., recently.
“I was driving my Toyota Camry when I suddenly found the road barricaded by five to six armed men wielding AK-47 rifles,” he narrated.
“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,” a visibly shaken Oyeleye recalled.
According to him, his captors claimed they had inside information about his finances and demanded N100 million as ransom.
When he pleaded that he did not have such money, they subjected him to a brutal beating.
“The kidnappers, who referred to themselves as ‘the Mafia’, boasted that they feared no one, not even the military.”
Oyeleye and his fellow captives overheard their captors making phone calls to some persons, including an individual named “Alhaji,” to arrange for supplies and discuss the procurement of more weapons.
Shockingly, he discovered that locals were aiding the criminals. Supplies were delivered via motorbikes to designated points within the forest, where the kidnappers collected them.
“They don’t operate in isolation. They have a network and godfathers,” he intoned. Even after his release, Oyeleye said he remained traumatised and fearful.
“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?” he lamented.
He called on government at all levels, especially the federal government, to overhaul the security architecture, equip agencies with modern technology, and strengthen community policing, even as he advocated swift justice, arguing that the impunity enjoyed by kidnappers only emboldens them
