Mr. Amodu Sunday, who hails from Ida Local Government Area of Kogi State, was kidnapped on Saturday, 30th March 2021, somewhere in Edo State on his way to Yenagoa from Abuja. The Kogi-State born who is married and lives with his wife in Yenagoa, in this interview by EBIOWEI LAWAL, recounts the near-death experience he had during the days he spent in the hands of his captors.
How were you kidnapped?
In the morning of Friday, 29th March 2021, I travelled from Yenagoa to Abuja for a business and by 10:30am of Saturday I was through with the business, so I headed back to Bayelsa. On our way back, we encountered lots of traffic which resulted from construction work within Lokoja. And because of this we got to Ekpoma, Edo State very late. But 25 minutes after we drove past Ekpoma, our vehicle had to stop following volleys of gunshots. It was about 8pm. After the gunshots, we were surrounded by six armed Fulani men. Three wielded guns, while the others handled machetes’. They forced us out of the bus and commanded us to lie down. Afterwards they led us into the bush.
After walking for about 20 minutes, they asked us to stop and lie down again. At that point, they asked us to introduce ourselves. We were eight in number, including our driver and a boy that was not more than 19 or 21 years old. The boy, according to his introduction, was from Sokoto State and gave his name as Abdul Rahman. After we all introduced ourselves, they allowed the boy and the driver of our vehicle who hailed from Edo State to go free. Till date I cannot explain the relationship between the driver and the kidnappers.
After they left, our nightmare started. From that point on, we trekked for five hours that night before they asked us to stop and rest. They created a mini-camp, tied our hands and legs and commanded us to sleep. From the next morning, which was Sunday, they kept us in hunger without food till Monday morning when they stole a pineapple and tuber of yam from a nearby farm. They peeled the pineapple and roasted the yam and shared it with us. It was very dirty but we had no choice but to eat it. After eating, they served us dirty water which was gotten from a nearby pond. We drank it because we needed to survive, considering the fact that we had not had water for two nights. On Monday evening, the flogging by these kidnappers increased. While flogging us, they would give us the opportunity to communicate with our relatives. The method was, before you speak to your family, they would flog you, so that whoever was speaking with you on the phone would feel the fear and panic in you.
They demanded N3 million ransom from each person to secure our release. Thanks to God that from the beginning of our communication with family members, the kidnappers realised that we were not capable of providing the said amount. At the end, four of us out of the six persons in their captivity, jointly paid N2 million in total which secured our release.
How did you know for sure that they were Fulani men?
By virtue of the fact that we are Nigerians, we know ourselves. If I see a Nigerian, with his ascent and looks, I would be able to tell where he or she is from. Fulanis are different. They have the tallest men in Nigeria. Most of them are fair in complexion. Because of the nature of their environment and work they do, they are usually thin. Most of them have curly hair like Arabs. So immediately I saw them, I didn’t need further introduction. And most of all, the language they spoke was Fulfude. I recognised it from the beginning.
While they were leading you from the point of kidnap to the camp they held you captive, can you recall any landmark that could give a clear description of the place?
What I recall is that the place was more like a cocoa farm. The place reminds one of the western part of Nigeria, like Kwara State. The experience is one thing I didn’t believe I would go through in my lifetime because these are things one should only see in movies. It was as if I was playing a role in a movie. I had the plan to escape like it usually happens in movies but in this case how to escape was not clear to me. The idea gradually disappeared in my head because the kidnappers were always with their arms and ready for action.
How many days did you spend with the kidnappers?
We spent approximately four days with them.
So within that period, did you hear them communicate with one another?
Yes. They talked a lot.
What did you hear them talk about?
I recall that they spoke the Fulfude the time we were with them and I didn’t understand Hausa, talk more of Fulfude. So we didn’t have the opportunity to understand what they were saying. Only one of them could speak and understand English. He was the one we were communicating with. He is very intelligent and sounded highly educated. He was the one operating all our phones to get contacts and even listened to everything you are saying. If you speak in any language that is not English or Fulfude, you would receive flogging in the camp. That was the rule. But I recall that periodically they called somebody who sounded like he was someone they respected so much. Why I say so is that, each time they finished talking to him, they would either start to flog us, ask us to talk to our relatives for the ransom or move us to another location. Another thing is that after talking to the man every night, they would make us trek five or six hours to look for a new camp to sleep.
Was the camp a building, under a tree or a tent they carried along with you?
Not at all. They just looked for a clear spot in the bush and decided if it was befitting to serve as a place they could keep us for the night.
They started by demanding N3 million from each of you. How did the negotiation in the end?
It was usually between 12 noon and 1pm each day that they opened the communication line with our relatives and friends. They had all our phones with them but they always used the phone of a lady that was kidnapped alongside with us. Initially they said we should pay N3 million each but as the negotiation went on they discovered it was not possible. They then brought it down to N2 million each, yet it didn’t work as our people could not afford it. And finally they resorted to asking us to collectively pay N3 million to secure our release. So the family of a pastor who was also kidnapped with us, volunteered to pay N1.5 million while the rest of us had to raise the balance. Amongst the five of us, a family raised N250,000, another raised N220,000, while my wife raised N155,000 for me. However the two ladies with us couldn’t raise any money. So when they received the money they kept to their words and allowed us to go.
Did it ever cross your mind you would die?
At every second I spent with the kidnappers, I thought I would die. Every second mattered to me because many factors that could lead to death were around us always.
Can you walk us through the exchange of the ransom?
They refused to accept transfer of the cash. They insisted that our contacts would bring the cash to a location they gave them. However, one striking thing happened. The two ladies that were kidnapped with us, the relatives of one made it clear from the onset that they would not be able to afford any money at the time, while the family of the other promised to pay N250,000. And in the process of negotiation, the aunt to the lady took the phone from the contact man and told them that she was married to an intelligence officer and that the location they were calling from in Edo had been traced. She said police were on their way to arrest them and that she was no longer going to pay the ransom. That comment caused chaos in the camp. I thought they would kill us that moment and walk away. But to God be the glory, that comment became our saving grace because they became agitated and wanted to collect anything, release us and move on. If not for that comment, they were insisting that I paid N500, 000 while my wife was able to borrow only N155,000. The moment that woman made that comment, they accepted what my wife provided. She transferred the money to my relative in Kogi who withdrew it and took it to the location the kidnappers instructed our relatives to drop money.
EBIOWEI LAWAL
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