The Caretaker Chairman of Iganna Local Government Development Area (LCDA), Honourable Olayiwola Adeleke, has finally recounted his ordeal as one of the victims of kidnappers in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State.
The LCDA boss said he was made to sleep on the bare floor for six days and nights before a ransom of N5.5million was paid for the kidnappers before he could regain his freedom.
Hon. Olayiwola made the revelations while speaking with journalists in his office at Iganna on Wednesday.
Daily Independent quoted him saying he was abducted on his way to Ibadan in an attempt to attend a meeting with the Governor Seyi Makinde on 25th October 2020 was his first kidnap experience.
He said, “It all happened on October 25th, 2020 on Sunday around 4.30 pm, I was travelling to Ibadan in preparation for the monthly meeting with Executive Governor of the state, Engr. Seyi Makinde, I decided to leave on Sunday so as to pass the night in Ibadan to avoid getting late to the meeting.
“When we got to Gboga, on the way to Awaye, all of a sudden, we heard gunshots and before we could make way out of the vehicle, these people came out of the bush with guns and knives in their hands and commanded us to open the door and started slapping me and my driver, they beat us mercilessly, shooting guns to scare away people, they took us out of the car, walked us into the bush and that was how we were with them for six days before the ransom was paid.
“They were eight in number, very young boys and they are Fulanis, they spoke Fulani language and one of them was speaking Yoruba language but not fluently as well as English but they were all Fulanis. The experience I had with them was bitter.
“The night they took us in, they took us to a mountain and we stayed there for the night and on Monday morning they moved us again to the inner part of the bush and when we got there around 5 pm, they asked us to lie down.
“Obviously, they have been using the place for kidnapping activities because it is a well-prepared place for victims and around 7 pm, I was given my phone to make calls and contact families, friends. They wanted to collect N200m.
“Before that time, they already collected our phones, ID card and my bag where I kept some documents with some money I intended to use to pay the school fees for one of my children in Ibadan; they ransacked the bag. We laid down all through as they didn’t allow us to sit down. After making calls, they collected the phones and started beating me and my driver again.
“They told me they know my identity and they have gotten information from my area and they have been monitoring me for like a week. But we never knew the insider that gave them information,” Olayiwola said.
Some residents of Asenlera who have once been victims of the Fulani brutality also shared their experiences with journalists who paid a visit to the affected Ibarapa axis. They called on the State Government for total eviction of the Fulanis in their community as they said they have been living in fear with their presence.
They also noted that they can no longer work on their farmlands, pointing out that the issue has been on ground for years with no reaction from the government nor the police command in the state.
