By Adeola Badru
Families of 10 travellers, including a former member of the National Youth Service Corps NYSC, Olusoji Adedapo, have raised the alarm over their abduction at Ijebu Awa, a boundary community between Ogun and Oyo states, with the kidnappers demanding N25 million for their release.
Although unconfirmed reports indicated that some of the passengers were serving corps members, the police said none of those abducted was a corps member.
The 24-year-old Adedapo, reportedly completed his national service in Edo State last week and was travelling to Ibadan when the incident occurred on Tuesday.
His cousin, Adeseye Timilehin, who disclosed this, said the family had been thrown into distress, particularly as the kidnappers had issued a 24-hour deadline for payment of the ransom.
He explained that Dapo (Adedapo) had been updating the family about his journey until he sent a video showing the traffic situation on the road, which turned out to be their last communication.
Timilehin said the family learnt of the abduction shortly after 7pm on Tuesday, when one of the passengers reportedly escaped and contacted another family member.
He explained that Dapo was travelling with a friend, Tunde, with whom he had served during the NYSC programme, informing that Tunde was the only passenger who managed to escape the attack and alerted the family.
According to him: “On Tuesday morning, my cousin left Benin City, Edo State. He was posted to Edo State for NYSC and did his Passing-Out Ceremony last week. So, he was on his way back to Ibadan.
“He was still giving us updates about his journey. At some point, he posted that there was traffic in Benin. I have the videos of the traffic jam on my phone. By the time they were able to get out of the traffic, it was already 3pm.
“They kept telling the driver that it was already late and that they should return to Benin and continue the journey the following day, but the driver insisted on going. By the time they got to Ijebu at about 7pm, they were attacked by the bandits.”
He noted d that Tunde told him the driver had swerved into the bush and stopped immediately after the gunmen appeared in front of the vehicle, forcing the passengers to flee for safety.
“He told me that when the driver swerved into the bush and stopped, the bandits immediately jumped in front of their bus. He had to hide in the bush while the rest ran for safety and were captured. He was able to escape, but my brother and the others were taken away,” he said.
Timilehin said the family subsequently established contact with Tunde, who provided further details of the incident and confirmed that police officers had arrived at the scene, rescued him and taken him to a police station, where he spent the night.
He said the survivor also informed the family that a search party had been deployed into the surrounding forest that same night to locate the abducted passengers, but the operation did not yield any positive result.
Timilehin explained that on Wednesday morning, Dapo’s mother, his aunt and a family friend travelled from Ibadan to Awa-Ijebu, where they proceeded to the police station to obtain information about the whereabouts of the victims.
According to him, the family was informed that police officers and local vigilantes had launched a search operation in the forest immediately after the incident, but expressed concern that the operation had yet to yield any breakthrough.
He said the family was subsequently advised to return home and await contact from the kidnappers, while Dapo’s luggage was handed over to his relatives.
However, the family received its first call from the abductors while returning to the motor park, with the gunmen demanding N20 million as ransom.
Timilehin said Dapo’s mother broke down in tears during the conversation, pleading with the kidnappers that the family could not afford such an amount.
He said the family was also allowed to speak briefly with Dapo, thereby confirming that he was still alive.
“My aunt started crying and pleading with them that there was no way we could raise that amount of money. We were also able to speak with Dapo, and that was when we confirmed that he was still alive,” he said.
Timilehin said that shortly after they returned to Ibadan, the abductors called again and increased their demand from N20 million to N25 million.
He said the kidnappers ended the conversation after communicating the new amount and switched off the telephone number, leaving the family without further contact until Thursday morning.
He said: “The first call we received on Thursday was to Dapo’s mother, asking whether we had raised the money. They said, ‘If you don’t find the money, that means you have already released Dapo to us’, and then they ended the call.”
Timilehin further disclosed that the abductors later allowed Dapo to speak directly with his mother, during which he appealed to her to contact his elder brother and ask him to reach out to his friends for financial assistance.
He said Dapo subsequently called his telephone number directly, pleading with him to mobilise support from friends and other well-wishers to raise the ransom.
According to him, he explained to Dapo that the family was already making efforts to raise the money but had yet to secure any substantial amount.
“I told him that we were already trying to raise money, but that it had not amounted to something substantial. He dropped the call and called me again a few minutes later to ask how much I had been able to raise.
“I told him that we had only been able to raise N700,000. His voice was shaking throughout the conversation as he pleaded with me to contact everybody I could to help us raise the money,” he said.
The family said they received another call from Dapo later on Thursday evening, during which he again asked how much money had been raised. Timilehin said he told him that no additional funds had been secured since their previous conversation, prompting Dapo to end the call immediately. He added that the abductors subsequently called Dapo’s mother, asking her the same question.
The repeated calls have reportedly heightened the family’s distress, as they struggle to meet the huge ransom demand while anxiously hoping for their son’s safe return.
Timilehin, who described Dapo as both his cousin and elder brother, explained that they shared a particularly close bond because Dapo’s parents were his immediate siblings.
He said the family was making frantic efforts to mobilise financial support from friends, relatives and other well-meaning Nigerians, but the amount raised so far remained far below the kidnappers’ demand.
“The family is therefore appealing for urgent intervention to secure the release of Dapo and the other victims, particularly as the abductors have continued to contact us over the ransom without any indication that they are prepared to reduce their demand,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command has said investigation into the abduction is ongoing.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaeyi Ogunnaike, said the command was investigating the incident, adding that efforts were ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the attack and secure the release of the abducted victim
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