• We trekked for hours, had no food, water for days, paid huge ransom before regaining freedom
• State govt, security agencies should beam searchlight on Ikorodu swamps serving as abode of kidnappers
By Kehinde Aderemi
For four harrowing days, they were held captive in the creeks of Ikorodu in Lagos. No food, no water for three days. Nothing, save their will to live. Their terrible experiences in those days – the shock of their kidnap, the trauma they underwent and the uncertainties they faced in the swamps of Ikorodu would no doubt remain in their memories till they go to their graves.
But in the midst of all the pains and agony, they still thank God that they found favour in the hands of their abductors, who, they noted, freed them after collecting huge ransoms from their families. They were happy the kidnappers decided to save their lives. And they expressed gratitude to their abductors for not killing them.
Sharing their experiences with Saturday Sun, the victims told different stories of how they were abducted as well as how they regained their freedom from the den of the kidnappers.
One of the victims, Mr Dare Onipede said he was kidnapped on Wednesday, February 26, in his home at Igbe-Alagemo,in Igbogbo-Baiyeiku, Local Council Development Area, Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The 41-year-old Onipede said even though he paid his abductors a huge amount of money as ransom, he was still grateful to them for not killing him. He said he was grateful to his abductors for saving his life in the course of that frightening journey that lasted for four terrible days.
“I thank them that they accepted to take the ransom and not to kill us. If they had killed us, nobody would have been able to trace our whereabouts,” he told the reporter.
Recalling how it happened, Onipede said he had returned home after closing for the day to reunite with his family. But in less than five minutes after he returned home, he said he heard an unusual sound in his compound.
“I came back from work about 8.30 pm. Shortly after, I heard gunshots. I didn’t even know how they made their way into my compound because our gate was shut. They shot my dog and killed it instantly.
“At that point, we were confused. I was looking for a way to escape with my wife and children when they hit at the door and broke into our flat. They pointed the gun at me and took me away. It was when I got to the swamps in our area that I saw my neighbour’s daughter there. She had also been kidnapped.
“Two of us were abducted on that day and we spent four terrible days together in the swamps there,” he recalled.
Onipede said he had been living in Igbe-Alagemo for the past nine years. In those years, he stated, the community had been peaceful until recently when cases of kidnapping became rampant. According to him, his abduction was the seventh in the last five months.
To alert the world to the situation in the community, residents recently held a peaceful protest where they met with the traditional ruler of Igbogbo town as well as the Chairman of the LCDA, Mr Sesan Daini.
With the invasion of their community by the kidnappers, residents of Igbe-Alagemo town now live in fear and anxiety. The entire community is gradually becoming a ghost of itself, as the people have continued to leave their homes in droves.
Giving an insight into what transpired at the creeks, the father of two said his abductors were kind to them, noting that the kidnappers never unleashed violence on them.
“They didn’t torture us. They tried to beat us on the first and the last day, probably to tell our families that they should cooperate with them and pay the ransom.
“They didn’t give us any food until the night of the third day when they asked us to drink garri with swamp water. They were just demanding the ransom and immediately we paid, they released us.
“The young lady that was kidnapped too was also spared. There were no threats, no molestation. She was beside me all through our stay in their captivity. I think it was prayers that saw us through.
“In the mosques and churches, people kept praying for us. I think we found favour from God. We were not maltreated,” he said.
Mrs Nofisat Taiwo is the mother of the 24-year-old Rodiat Taiwo, the young lady that was abducted with Onipede. She said her daughter was yet to get over the trauma, stating that she decided to speak on behalf of the young lady.
Mrs Taiwo, a mother of three, expressed thanks to God that her 24-year-old daughter was not raped during the four days that she was held hostage in the swamp.
“We were watching television in the living room when I heard a strange noise. I went outside to find out what happened. As I was looking around, Rodiat, my daughter came out and asked me to come inside. So, we went inside and continued watching the TV. That was how they hit the door and came straight to the living room with guns.
“They asked where my husband was. I suspected they were looking for men. But when they couldn’t find any man at home, they collected our phones and took my daughter away.
“I tried to follow them, but one of them hit me on my face and I fell down and they warned me not to raise my face. Our neighbours were the ones that called my husband because I had no phone with me. So, he came back home and we started expecting to hear from them.
“The following day, they called and started demanding ransom. My daughter cried profusely as she asked us to sell our property to save her life. They spent four nights. They took them away on Wednesday and they were released on Saturday night after we had paid the ransom,” she said.
Onipede and Taiwo declined to mention the amount they paid as ransom, but maintained that the police was not involved in their release.
“The report that it was the police that rescued us from kidnappers was not true. We paid ransom and on the fourth night, they released us,” Onipede stated.
“My experience in captivity was not something to write home about. But I know that with time, I will recover from the traumatic experience I had with our abductors. I cooperated with them and followed all their instructions to the letter.
“That was why I made the promise that I would thank them in the public if I am released. I made a promise to them and I am fulfilling the promise through your newspaper,” he explained.
For Miss Ada, a 30-year-old fashion designer, her experience with the kidnappers would continue to linger on in her memory. She was of the opinion that there was more to the kidnapping incidents that have become rampant in the community. She said she firmly believed that the kidnappers have informants among residents of the community, which she said made it easy for the kidnappers to track their victims.
“I was kidnapped on December 16, 2024. There was no light in our area and I went to visit my friend in her house because I needed to charge my phones.
“It was around 9pm. But in less than 20 minutes after I got there, we heard gunshots. Because it was in December, we thought it was fireworks. But when the gunshots became sporadic, we were fidgeting and started looking through the windows.
“One of them jumped into the compound through the fence. Even though the fence had an electric cable, he tampered with the wire and it started making an unusual sound. He was the one that opened the gate for the other three. They were four. They even killed the Eskimo dog that was in the compound. Then they took us away,” she said.
She narrated how they navigated the swamps, noting that they walked in the dark for more than four hours.
“It was an experience I wouldn’t wish my enemy. When they noticed that we could not walk again, we had to rest. I had so many scars on my leg because we were walking through the swamp.
“The guys took their time in moving us to their camp, where there was a bag of garri, cigarettes and all these cheap alcoholic drinks. The following day, they started beating us and making calls.
“They asked us what we do for a living. I told them I am a fashion designer. My friend told them she was a footballer.
“That was when the negotiations began, and they started demanding ransom. And in the end, they collected N4 million from me and N9 million from my friend. They collected the money in cash and even counted it in our presence to be sure that it was complete. Our families had to put an extra 100,000 to the money because they threatened that none of the money should go missing.
“Even when my family had yet to meet up with their demand, they started threatening me that if they didn’t pay the ransom in time, the person that would buy my head and every other part of my body would soon come, as they would kill me.
“I begged them that I lost my father two years ago and that my mother couldn’t raise that money. But they insisted and continued beating me. We had to borrow and up till now, I am still paying the loan we got to pay the ransom.
“Immediately they collected the ransom, they started responding to some of our questions. They said they came for somebody that was selling cement very close to the house where my friend lived, but when they couldn’t get him, they decided to take us.
“My friend also asked to know if she was safe living in the house, and they said she was safe and that they would not come for her again.
“It is obvious the kidnappers know the people living in this community. They didn’t care for us. After three days, they gave us garri and nothing more.
“So, when I heard about Mr Onipede and Rodiat’s case, I felt so bad because it was not usually a good experience being a victim of kidnapping. Many people have been killed in this kind of situation. The pain and agony was real, not film tricks.
“The kidnappers are very mean and desperate. In our own case, they told us that the ransom we paid was their legitimate money,” she said.
The victims said the kidnappers, who they said spoke mostly in Pidgin English, didn’t sound like Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. “They communicated with us in Pidgin, and I suspect they were from the Niger–Delta from the way they spoke, but there is no proof. They also know the area well. They kept walking us through the swamps for about four hours before we got to their camp. I also noticed that they kept circling around the same area, probably to get us tired and confuse us about the location. I believe their camp is also in the area. Because after freeing us, they also made us walk round and round for about two hours before they left us. Shortly after, we saw some houses. And it was close to where we were abducted. It wasn’t far at all. It is obvious that their camp is within our area. It’s here in this part of Ikorodu,” one of the victims said.
The victim urged the federal and state governments to beam the searchlight on the swamps and creeks around Igbogbo and Baiyeku as well as their satellite communities in the Ikorodu area, where they said criminals had turned to their abode.
Meanwhile, Baale of Igbe-Alagemo town, Chief Nasiru Agoro, said the cases of kidnapping in his community were a sad reminder of the level of insecurity in the country.
He said the security challenges in Igbe-Alagemo town and its environs had taken another dimension with the killing and kidnapping of residents. He regretted that residents were already fleeing the community. He urged the Lagos State government to come to their rescue.
“As a community, we have tried our best to solve these challenges. We are also appealing to residents of Igbe-Alagemo not to leave the community. We are still doing all we can to solve the problem.
“We held a peaceful protest at the palace of the Igbogbo monarch and the Igbogbo Baiyeku Secretariat in order to express our worries and appeal to the Lagos State government to save us from the kidnappers. We need the presence of security men in Igbe-Alagemo.
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu should listen to us and also help us dredge the creeks in order to sanitise the area. The place has become a threat to us and an illegal abode for the kidnappers.
“Government should take away the swamp. The recent case was the seventh in four months, and some of the victims are those living at the edge of the swamp.
“More importantly, we are also using this opportunity to appeal to the Lagos State governor that whoever that is arrested in connection with the current cases of kidnapping in the community should be made to face the full wrath of the law,” said the traditional ruler.