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Dear All,
I just copied the news report below from the Nigerian Tribune online, a short while ago. The incident recounted in the article occurred around Ijebu Ijesa. We need to really pray for Nigeria. This bandits kidnappting people everywwhere are Boko Haram foor soldiers. May God help this country.
'In captivity, I went six days without food, water'
BYy Tessy Umunakwe The South West
olatoye temitope
Dr Tunde Hamzat
Dr Tunde Hamzat, the Senior Special Assistant on Media, Communication and Strategy to Honourable Olatoye Temitope Sugar recently regained his freedom after being held captive by kidnappers along Iwaraja-Efon road. He recounts his six-day close shave with death in this interview by Tessy Umunakwe.
How it all began
First of all, I give glory to God for the gift of life because I had considered myself dead. I was travelling to Ado Ekiti on 25th May to attend the burial of a late colleague and dependable friend, Otunba Dele Dada when at 5p.m, we were stopped through sporadic shooting by bandits at Iwaraja between Ijebu-Jesa and Efon Alaye. At first, I thought they were armed robbers because they collected our money, phones and other belongings and asked us to lie face down. All of a sudden, they grabbed me by the collar but I tried to escape. I wriggled myself free and ran but they came after me. Once I fell, twice my legs failed me. There and then they descended on me with their machete. I received machete cut on my head twice. Blood gushed out and before I could say Jack Robinson, I was drenched in blood. At that point, it dawned on me that they were not armed robbers. And I started begging them for mercy. Then I saw a woman I later learnt was a lecturer at Afe Babalola University disembark from her car in an attempt to escape but she was shot on the head from the back. I think she died instantly. There was panic and pandemonium on the road. Vehicles rammed into one another as drivers tried to manoeuvre their way in a bid to escape from the horrible situation. I was held captive. And I was to spend six days with them in captivity precisely 143 hours 30 minutes.
The journey into the kidnappers' den
That night we trekked a minimum of five kilometers into the thick forest. We had brief a stopover under a shade where they made several calls. They were not speaking Hausa. But I suspected they were conversing in Fulfude. They later confirmed it; they said they were Fulanis and members of the Shekau faction of Boko Haram. With this revelation, my heart almost jumped out my mouth. They took me to their practical base and began to beat me. They beat me thoroughly and persistently. They told me I needed to pay N30 million to regain my freedom. I told them I didn't have money; that I am a pensioner and I didn't even have anything to sell to raise the money. They didn't like this so they beat me harder, When the beating became too much for me to bear, I was forced to lie to them that I had the money. By now, they had tied my hands and legs and big forest ants were having a field day biting me but I couldn't shove them away. That was how I passed the night.
Eating and drinking
I didn't take food or water throughout the six days. They were cooking by themselves, especially very early in the morning or very late at night using firewood. They boiled rice and most times, they cooked Indomie. No doubt, they had a line of supply. They also cooked corn which they took from the farms. They were magnanimous in offering me food but I couldn't imagine myself eating that kind of food or drinking the kind of water they were drinking but it appeared they were used to it. Even if I forced myself to eat food, the thought that I would have the urge to go to the toilet further repelled me. But on the third day, they didn't offer me food anymore. They knew I wouldn't eat nor drink. It's quite unfortunate that the forest that is supposed to give comparative advantage in terms of reserves and wealth has somehow metamorphosed into a competitive disadvantage because it appeared they knew the terrain more than the locals. Even as a Yoruba man, I never knew there was such a thick forest in the South West.
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Movement within the forest
Every day we trekked a minimum of five hours. We were always moving and changing positions. We were going to nowhere in particular because after sometime, I started noticing some landmarks which showed that we were moving in circles. The topography of the forest provided a cover for their nefarious activities. They had no vehicle, no motorcycle. They went on foot. The forest was very thick, yet they found their way around easily.
Negotiation for ransom
They removed my SIM card from my phone and put it in one of their phones. They asked someone to send them credit. The person sent them two N100 credit cards. I helped them to load the credit on their phone but on my SIM. They used my SIM to call my contacts and commenced negotiation. Eventually N2.5million was paid for my release.
Security operatives' intervention
You have to give it to the military, they moved in 48 hours after. Six out of eight of these kidnappers were in military camouflage. They all carried AK 47 rifles which had Arabic inscriptions Though I didn't handle the rifles, from my estimation the rifles were weightier than the conventional ones. And they had a mobile armoury along with a cache of arms. They had a shootout with the military 24 hours after my abduction. The military were so close to where we were, less than 50 metres. If the military had had access to impeccable intelligence report, they would have overran them in five minutes. Perhaps I would have been killed. While they were exchanging fire with the military and the military was advancing, they were retreating further into the forest and dragging me along because I could no longer walk. I was extremely weak. I was bleeding from machete cuts and splinters on my legs. They pulled, dragged, pushed and shoved me. Then all of a sudden there was cessation of cross-fire. The soldiers didn't know they were very close to their target hence they ceased further actions. If they had known and clamped down on them, probably, they would have abandoned or killed me and escaped because the heat was on them.
Co-abductees
I was the only abductee on that day. But they later abducted additional five. They brought the five along with the uniform of the soldier that was probably killed in the gun battle they had with security operatives. They now divided themselves into groups of two or three. One man among the new abductees paid N50million ransom 24 hours after being taken hostage. This made them to beat me the more. They asked me how come a man who was kidnapped 24 hours before paid N50 million and I was unable to pay N5 million which was the negotiated amount at that time. I engaged them telling them that the man was not only rich but also had rich friends and that was not the case with me. It was at this point that they slashed the ransom to N3 million. Maybe if my friends who were doing the negotiation knew what I knew, they would have negotiated for N1 million because the heat was on them. They were receiving calls every now and then which I believe were intelligent reports. The confirmation came when the military moved in few minutes after my release and leveled the place to the ground. They must have been killed in the process.
Relationship with handler
My handler was the one that was always with me. I was beginning to gain his confidence. He was tall and young. In fact, they were all young, handsome and gangling. The oldest of them cannot be up to 30 years. I asked my handler, do you know me? He was the only one who understood and spoke corrupted English. He responded that he didn't know me. And I said you don't know me and I don't know you either so why are we fighting ourselves? Again, I asked: Do I look like someone who is rich? I told him I am poor, that I am a retired teacher and government hardly pays my pension. He said I am maigida (master) and that they were waging war against government. I gained the confidence of my handler so much so that he ensured I was not beaten again. Before then I was constantly beaten so that I can mount pressure on my friends and relatives to go look for money to pay the ransom.
My rescue team
I attended Awe High School, Awe, Oyo State. We have a very strong alumni association led by my friend, Dr Sina Adekanbi. They started the negotiation with my abductors. The Olatoye Sugar Foundation came in. The founder and chairman, Honourable Olatoye Temitope Sugar activated his contact in the security community and paid heavily to ensure my release. Also involved were the Afenifere Renewal Group, the Atayese Group with Mr Tokunbo Ajasin as chairman, the Yoruba Leadership Peace Initiative led by Otunba Osibogun as convener and president, the Sigma Club of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State College of Education Wesley Campus Old Students Association, the Police, my friends in the Diaspora, my classmates. These people did so marvelously well. They all activated their contacts and made great efforts to ensure my release. I will also give it to the press because you kept the news in the front burner and even the social media. Space FM, Fresh FM, MITV did a lot. I always featured on their programmes and so they kept airing these previous programmes saying this man must not die They were wonderful. They made great efforts towards ensuring my release. My abductors listened to radio but they always tuned it to Hausa-speaking channels. Of course, these programmes will be related to them in Hausa. It was when I was released conditionally that I realized the enormity of the support and the vibrancy of the social media. The issue went viral. The interview I granted after my release must have reached more than 10 million people. People came from far and near to see me, In fact, some were weeping when they saw me. They wondered how people could be so wicked. Some even insinuated that it was politically motivated. You know I am the Senior Special Adviser to Honourable Temitope Sugar on Media, Communication and Strategy and we had to disabuse their minds that it was not politically motivated. It was not premeditated. It just happened. I didn't know these people and they didn't know me. Their grouse, according to them, was against the state. And I told them that if they didn 't like a government, they can vote the government out. I must say that the situation is better imagined. It was as if the gate of hell was opened temporarily for terror to reign. For more than two decades, I have been involved in subjecting the process of governance to interrogation most especially during the locust years of Jonathan's presidency. It was then that the Boko Haram sore became festered. I rememberd I was on television with some cerebral people like Dr Tony Marinho and Professor Osisioma Nwolise. The general consensus was that if care was not taken the virus of Boko Haram could spread to other parts of the country. How prophetic. I never knew I would one day be a victim.
Payment of ransom
I will be lying to you if I tell you my hope was raised when on the sixth day arrangements had been concluded to deliver the ransom. You need to know the mindset of these people. Paying the ransom does not mean that one cannot be killed. Having been together for six days albeit forcefully, I came to realize that these guys were very smart, very intelligent. They could say I was pretending that I didn't understand their language, that I could heard heard a lot and that I should be wasted. And my fear was further heightened when two members of Awe High School volunteered to bring the ransom because these devils could collect the ransom and still go ahead to waste them. But by this time, I had become close to my handler and I expressed my fear to him. He said: Walahi talahi, nothing will happen to them.
From N30 million ransom to N2.5 million
I think they agreed because the heat was on them. From N30 million, they came down to N20 million to N10 million and to N5million. It was at this point that they broke into factions and that was the last time I saw of their leader. They must have been getting intelligence report about the movement of security operatives. You cannot rule out the possibility of fifth columnists where there are gallant soldiers and highly cerebral and thoroughbred professional policemen. In every 12 disciples, there's a Judas. They must have been getting intelligence report from outside the camp. Whoever gave them the intelligence report must be a fifth columnist, a collaborator. Honestly, it still beats my imagination that they could operate in that axis unhindered and their temerity to go outside the forest after my abduction to kidnap yet another five people.
Close shave with death
At a point, I was asked to put my head in a v-shaped tree that has been cut to size so that they can have my head chopped off. I did as they instructed, expecting to hear gbam though it is said that the person being killed does not hear the sound of the gun or the fatal blow that would take his life. I waited for a few minutes but nothing happened. There was disagreement among them about whether to kill me or not. Come to think of it. If you are kidnapped, and you are unable to raise the ransom as demanded, when you are killed, your body will be quickly dismembered and sold to body parts buyers who are always lurking around them. So for them it's a win win situation.
Advice for security operatives
The truth is that Boko Haram is already in the South- West. They said they have an axe to grind with the state. They made reference to the extra-judicial killing of their leader. The ransom they get is used to procure arms to propagate their ideology. The truth is, we need to reinvent the past. Nigeria was not like this in the past. It was the late Alfred Rewane (Osibakoro) that said: Yesterday, we yearn for a better tomorrow but today, we mourn the loss of a better yesterday. Really, I don't see anything wrong with Boko Haram; is is an ideology. If you don't want to go to school, don't go but don't prevent me from going. We need to draw a line of demarcation. If you don't want to go school, if you want to remain mentally impoverished, good luck but don't prevent me from going to school. So, I think we should bring the issue of restructuring to the front burner. Do you know that in the past we were giving loan advances to the centre? Are you aware that this country made it possible for Awolowo's government to establish a Yoruba embassy in the United Kingdom? This was a country that made it possible for Awolowo's government to have the first television station here in the South West in 1959. That time, France, Spain and Canada were yet to have their television stations. This is to show the level of our development. So, unless we go back to examine critically the fundamentals of what made Nigeria great in the past, we will never get it right. Of course, the security architecture needs tinkering with. Let's
E. B. Omobowale.
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