The abducted corps members from Ondo State who were released by the kidnappers on Monday said the family of each of the victims paid a sum of N1 million before they were set free.

The five victims, who include four corps members and one artisan, were kidnapped by the bandits at about 11 pm last Thursday at Omi Alafa Village in Ifon, Ose Local Government Area, and dragged the victims into the forest.

The corps members were said to be going back home after the three-week National Youth Service Corps Orientation camp in Enugu and Abia States. It was gathered that the driver and one passenger sitting in front of the vehicle were shot dead by the bandits.

Narrating their ordeal in the incident, one of the corps members, Patience Andrew, said the bandits contacted their families and demanded a sum of N30 million each for ransom but after much negotiation they agreed to collect N1 million.

She described the four days experience in the den of the bandits as horrible and hellish, saying they were beaten black and blue by the kidnappers while they were given garri and dirty water to eat once a day.

Andrew said, “We boarded a bus from Abia State to Onitsha, but our driver was not fast enough, one of the park drivers took us to where we boarded another bus going to Akure, we got there around 2 pm but the driver did not take off immediately, so we left Onitsha park around 5 pm with nine passengers in a Sienna bus. We got to Ondo state around 10 pm and that was when the incident happened. They flashed a torch light on the driver and the driver said “Oga I no see you”.

“They just shot him twice the moment he made that statement and the woman sitting next to him was killed. One guy too was butchered, two people died and we don’t know about the guy that was butchered because he ran away. Then they brought us out of the vehicle and took us inside the bush, we trekked from past 10 pm till around 7 am the following day in the bush, the kidnappers were five in number and their age range should be around 25 years. They were speaking the Hausa/Fulani language and they had one interpreter.

“They tortured us and we were only given garri and water once a day. At first, they asked for N30 million per person but as the negotiation was going they brought it down to N3million, so they now asked us to bring in N1 million each. We slept inside the bush throughout the day, we heard the bark of a dog and the sound of a cow in the bush and we also passed through farmland when we were coming out, and we didn’t meet anybody on the road then our brothers came with what (N1million).

According to her, some of the items demanded by the bandits and were taken to them included, three packs of Hollandia yogurt, two loaves of bread, one carton of Peak milk, one pack of malt, bottles of Fearless drink, one pack of cigarette and 10 packs of cooked rice and chicken and N1million each totaling N5million.

The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, in a statement, said the victims were abandoned before the police picked them up and took them to the Police Medical Services Owo briefly before reuniting them with their families.

She said, “The command this day on the 22nd of July has found victims of the Ose/Ifon area kidnap which occurred on 18th July, 2024. The victims were abandoned by their assailants after the police mounted pressure on the kidnappers.

“Policemen drawn from the tactical squad led by the Area Commander of Owo, ACP Olufemi Awoyale continuous combing of the Bush with sustained technical support frustrated the assailants and were forced to abandon the victims at Oyinbo/ Sanusi Camp.”