The family of a woman, Olayinka Oremade, who was reportedly abducted by gunmen in the Alapako/Oyebola area of Ogun State, has appealed to the Nigeria Police Force and the government to intensify efforts to secure her release
The victim was reportedly kidnapped alongside one of her staff members on Friday, August 14, after gunmen allegedly attacked their vehicle while they were returning from a farm in the area.
Speaking in a WhatsApp conversation with PUNCH, Olayinka’s son, Oremade Ilerioluwa, said his mother had gone to a farm to create content for her business before she and her staff were allegedly ambushed on their way back.
According to him, four armed men appeared in front of the vehicle, prompting his mother to attempt to reverse and escape.
He said, “When they were in the vehicle, four of the kidnappers appeared at the front. She tried to reverse when she noticed what was going on. As she was reversing, three other kidnappers appeared at the back, and they shot the back tyres.
“At that point, there was nothing she could do again, and the car got stuck at a point inside the bush. They had no choice but to come down. All of them opened the door and started running out.
“Unfortunately, two of the staff were able to escape, while my mum and one of the other staff were apprehended by the kidnappers.”
Ilerioluwa said the family received details of the incident from one of his mother’s workers, a surveyor and the staff members who escaped.
He added that the family reported the incident to the police the following day and visited the nearest police station to the scene, Ajebo, to obtain information about the rescue efforts.
According to him, the police officers said they had searched the area but did not find the abducted victims. He added that the officers discovered the victim’s car and took the two escaped staff members in for questioning.
He said the alleged kidnappers later contacted the family on Saturday night and initially demanded a ransom of N200m.
“They called around 9:45pm at night. The next day, which was Sunday, they called around that time too, asking for the same amount.
“We told them that we don’t have it. We kept negotiating until Wednesday evening when they said we should go and look for N100m, which we still told them that we don’t have,” he said.
The victim’s son added that he was able to speak directly with his mother during one of the calls, saying she urged him to seek financial assistance from family members to secure her release.
He said hunters in the area had also been searching for his mother and the other abducted woman, but the efforts had yet to yield results.
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