How we were kidnapped, made to trek for three days non-stop in the forest ― Victims

Three kidnap victims have given graphic details of how some suspected Fulani kidnappers made them to trek for three days non-stop deep in a forest in Edo State.

The victims, Richy Ihensekhien, Racheal Obadoni and Maryam Ighodaro, said they were on their way to Ujogba in Esan West local government area of Edo State to attend a funeral ceremony on Saturday, January 23, 2021, when they ran into heavily armed herdsmen.

Ihensekhien who drove explained that they passed through lsi-Ugieghudu Road in Uhumwuode Local Government Area as it is a short cut to Ujogba.

He said they had just driven past a police checkpoint when they were jolted by the sound of gunshots and suddenly saw heavily armed men who pointed guns at his car.

In desperation, he said he tried to quickly reverse the car to escape from the bandits but froze when he saw other armed men behind him who immediately opened fire, and was forced to halt by the armed herdsmen.

Still in shock, Ihensekhien said the gunmen quickly moved towards the three of them in the car and marched them into the forest where they spent five harrowing days in captivity.

He said that the three of them were made to trek for three days non-stop out of the five days they spent in the den of their captors which allegedly included two Southerners.

He said that they walked through streams, rivers, valleys and hills at the risk of being attacked by wild animals and poisonous snakes in the bush, noting that they were not fed but only given dirty water from the stream to drink.

He lamented: “The forest was like a no-man’s land for the kidnappers as they operate freely unhindered.

“Llife was almost becoming miserable and frustrating as we were tired and stressed out in the forest from the three days non-stop trekking.”

According to him, the kidnappers nominated a spokesman, who said he graduated from one of the universities in the southern part of Nigeria, to negotiate ransom money.

The sum of N7.5 million was later given to the kidnappers as ransom before they set them free.

He said: “We saw hell as we had to start begging our family members to quickly send money after they threatened to kill the three of us if ransom did not come the next day.

The victims, however, called for intensive security patrols including stop and search along major roads in Edo State, adding that the gunmen usually calculate and monitor the security agents before they strike.

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