A Kwara-based couple, Mr Isaac Olaosebikan and his wife, Alice, have escaped from a kidnappers’ den after spending three days in captivity.
While they found their way to freedom, at least eight others, including a pastor, remain in the clutches of the abductors, who have demanded a N50 million ransom.
The couple recounted their ordeal, describing their survival as “nothing short of a miracle.”
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Police Command says it has intensified efforts to rescue the remaining victims and track down the perpetrators.
The nightmare began on Saturday night in Agbeku, a town in Ifelodun Local Government Area, when gunmen stormed a church vigil, firing indiscriminately.
The assailants struck during a special service at the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), killing the pastor’s wife, Mrs Olawale, and leaving another worshipper critically injured, PUNCH Online earlier reported.
“We had barely arrived when the gunshots rang out,” Mr Olaosebikan recounted.
This was according to the statement issued by the Kwara State Police Command on Monday.
It further read, “It was chaos—worshippers running in all directions. In the midst of it all, the pastor’s wife lay in a pool of blood, lifeless.
“Another man was groaning in pain, clutching his wounded arm. Before we could react, they rounded up ten of us and forced us into the bush.”
For the Olaosebikans, what followed was a tormenting three-day ordeal deep in the forest.
“The Olawale are a family friend. She was murdered in cold blood. The nice woman invited us to the programme. We came in from Offa that Saturday evening to attend the programme before calamity struck.
“They drove us for hours into the forest where we were held as hostages,” Alice stated.
“The kidnappers contacted our families, demanding N20 million for the pastor alone and another N30 million for the rest of us.
“They warned against involving security operatives, threatening to kill us all if anyone disobeyed,” she narrated to the police.
With every passing hour, hope dwindled—until the early hours of Monday, when the couple seized a chance to escape.
“We had been watching them closely, waiting for an opening. Just before dawn, with our hearts pounding, we made a run for it,” Olaosebikan declared.
“We ran until our legs could carry us no more. It was a good Samaritan in Igbaja town—another town—who directed us to the police station, where we finally reported our escape,” he continued.
Their traumatic experience left them shaken but relieved to be alive, the couples noted.
Meanwhile, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, confirmed that eight individuals, including the pastor, remain in captivity.
This is as he acknowledged the arrest of seven kidnapping suspects earlier on the same Saturday.
Tribune reports on Sunday that the culprits were all male, with the sum of N1,736,000.00 retrieved during a raid of their hideout in the state.
“Our tactical teams are combing the forests and surrounding areas to ensure the safe return of those abducted in the church on Saturday night,” Olaiya assured.
“From intelligence reports, the attackers arrived in a Hilux van, opened fire, and took six women and four men before speeding away.
“Their demands for N50m ransom in total have been noted, but our priority remains their rescue,” the CP further disclosed in the press release.
A local community leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed growing fears over the rising wave of kidnappings.
“The security situation is worsening. These criminals now strike at will, and the people are left feeling helpless,” she lamented.
The abduction of worshippers in Agbeku is the latest in a series of kidnappings that have plagued the town.
Earlier in August, armed men abducted the wife of a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor in Elerinjare, another town in Ifelodun LGA.
With security forces ramping up their search, the residents “hope that the victims will soon be reunited with their families and that the government will find a lasting solution to the alarming increase in abduction in the local government and state at large.”
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