Kidnap Victims Escape As Abductors Fall Asleep

Eleven people who were kidnapped on their farms in Estako West Local Government Area of Edo State have escaped after their abductors slept off.

The victims said the kidnappers slept off the following day after walking all night with them in the bush.

Speaking at the Edo State Police Command headquarters on Friday, Braimah Destiny, who spoke on behalf of the victims, said he was returning from the farm when he ran into six men armed with guns and cutlasses.

Braimah said the kidnappers abducted him and 10 other persons and took them into the forest, noting that they heard the police shooting while being marched into the bush

He said, “I was coming from the farm when I met six of them armed with guns and machetes. They also captured others making 11 victims. They took us from one bush to another. It was around six p.m and we heard the police shooting. They made us walk throughout the night. We got to a place and they told us to hide. They were very tired and they slept off.

“That was how we ran to the police. The kidnappers beat us and maltreated us.”

Another victim, Gloria Inyanugbo, who identified her abductors said she spent four days at the kidnappers’ den before her husband paid N3m for her release.

She said, “I was kidnapped on the 12th of January when I was working inside the farm. They asked how much I have in my account after taking me inside the bush. I spent four days. until my husband raised N3m and another N300,000 to buy hard drugs, food and other items.

“The community vigilante nabbed two of them inside the bush and the police arrested others through tracking. I saw one of them that boasted that nobody can do anything to him. I can’t imagine that the police could.arrrest them.”