Metro

Ogun CCC Shepherd narrates ‘miraculous’ escape from Fulani gunmen, says orphan still held

Published

7 months ago

April 14, 2024

Oluwaseyifunmi Oladapo, the shepherd of a Celestial Church parish in the Mowe area of Ogun State, has shared with FIJ details of his Maundy Thursday abduction and subsequent escape from armed abductors.

The kidnappers took Oladapo from the pulpit in Jehovah Shalom Parish and dragged Abiola Oluboboye, his assistant, away with them.

FIJ had reported Oladapo’s escape against police lies that he was rescued in March. He narrated an escape that he described to FIJ as miraculous on Saturday.

“They were about seven, those who came to kidnap me. I was preaching on the pulpit when the armed men entered the church that night. Four of them came into the church with three guns, blocking all three entrances. The first thing they asked for was my iPhone, even though the phone wasn’t with me at the time,” Oladapo said.

“My phone [an iPhone 14] was in my house, which I had locked up before going to church that evening. We could not get the keys on time, and the kidnappers took me and Oluboboye with them.

They threatened to shoot a church worker but did not harm anyone. Instead, they shot the roof of the church from the inside and the outside. They shot at something they thought was a CCTV camera.

“The kidnappers took us through a bushy area close to the church and we had to walk in the bush. They spoke Yoruba, Pidgin English and their own language.

I could tell that they were Fulani when they spoke their language. They spoke the Fulani Language to one another. Two of the seven armed men withdrew from the pack, leaving only five armed men escorting me and Oluboboye in the bush.

“They attacked the church around 7:30 pm. Before they went into the bush, the kidnappers pulled the shoes they wore and put on bathroom slippers.

The armed men made us walk between them. Three with guns walked ahead of us, while two with cutlasses stayed behind us. They stopped after we had trekked a reasonable distance in the bush and told me they wanted N50 million.

“I told them that I didn’t have N50 million or N30 million. They had the barrels of their guns on my neck as we negotiated. I told them that I could manage N10 million just because I wanted to stay alive. They agreed and asked us to pay an extra N5 million for Oluboboye.

I begged them that we didn’t have money and, when they said that they would shoot him right there, I told them that Oluboboye had no father or mother. We eventually settled for N13 million in ransom.

“It was God who saved me. We approached a road after walking in the bush for some time. There was a beer parlour by the side of the same road. Music came from the beer parlour, and I knew that people were there past midnight.

“As soon as the kidnappers realised that there might be people who could challenge them, they hurriedly got us back into the bush. At this point, the kidnappers did not know which path to take in the bush.

They were unfamiliar with the terrain, and I got separated from them at that point. God saved me from their clutches. I cannot explain how exactly, but it was miraculous. I was with the kidnappers till 2 am.

“I found my way back to the main road. People refused to open their doors to me; they thought I was a robber. A fourth resident heard my pleas, and I explained to them that I was kidnapped. They told me that I was in Ofada. I did not know the place, and I wasn’t familiar with the town.

All I knew was that there was a parish whose shepherd I knew of. Some residents escorted me to the town’s chief’s premises. A shepherd from a parish in the town came there to take me.

“When we returned from the town’s chief’s residence, we saw the bush path from where I had escaped. There were no security operatives present or close by, so we couldn’t immediately follow the trail to track the kidnappers. I spent the night with the shepherd in Ofada.

We called my phone and I spoke with those at home. The kidnappers called us to ask for the ransom, using Oluboboye’s phone that week. They suddenly stopped calling.

“The last time we could reach them on the phone was last Saturday. The police contacted us and promised to help with Oluboboye’s recovery. We are just praying and hoping to hear from him. His family just needs to know that he is alright.”

Metro

Abducted victim rescued, vehicle, guns recovered by police

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

Naijablitznews

Operatives of Rivers State Police Command have rescued a kidnap victim from his armed abductors.

According to report, the victim was rescued minutes after he was kidnapped in Oyigbo area of the state, following the swift intervention of the police.

Report further revealed that police operatives, on getting a distress call, had chased the abductors, resulting in a gun duel, and that the criminals had abandoned the target and fled, following the superior firepower of the police.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the incident happened on Sunday.

Iringe-Koko in the statement, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, said police rescued the victim who was abandoned in the vehicle, recovered the operational car used by the kidnappers and one gun.

She said: “On November 17, 2024, about 2023hrs, operatives of the Command received a distress call from the Command’s Control Room indicating that a gang of armed men numbering about four operating in a Black colour Toyota Corolla car shot sporadically and kidnapped one Madabuchi Julius ‘m’ at Sabbath Filling Station, Oyigbo.

“Operatives were swiftly mobilised to the scene and the hoodlums on sighting the Police operatives drove off, but they were given a hot chase by the operatives and subsequently intercepted along Egbu Street, Oyigbo and and a gun duel…….ensued between the Police operatives and the hoodlums.

“The hoodlums could not withstand the Police superior fire power and eventually abandoned the victim and their operational vehicle with registration number RIVERS PHC 938 AH and escaped. The victim was rescued unhurt and the vehicle recovered.

“Investigation is ongoing while concerted efforts are intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the gang and recover their operational weapons.”

Iringe-Koko noted the police in another development arrested some suspected criminals and recovered some items.

Metro

Bandits abduct four farmers in fresh Southern Kaduna attack

Published

14 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Bandits have reportedly abducted about four farmers in the Libere community of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Aminu Khalid, the Dokan Karji youth leader, disclosed this to DAILY POST on Thursday in a telephone interview.

He said the farmers were kidnapped at about 12 o’clock while harvesting their crops.

Khalid lamented that the incident has caused panic in Libere and surrounding communities, with residents deserting their villages.

“These bandits have continued to occupy more villages in our local government area unchallenged and causing a lot havoc to the various communities,” he said.

The youth leader had earlier reported that Libere was among the 14 villages over-run by bandits during a recent attack. He had also called for military intervention to restore normalcy in the area.

He identified some of those abducted as Pheobe Adauji, Cecilia Moses, Tambaya and his wife.

Metro

Police Arrest Man, Girlfriend For Kidnap, Murder Of 70-year-old Woman

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested two suspects, Ikechukwu Okoye (male, aged 33) and Juliet Ogbodo (female, aged 39), both of Onuorie-Obuno in Akpugo Community, Nkanu West Local Government Area over the alleged kidnap and murder of a 70-year-old woman.

The suspects were alleged to have kidnapped, murdered and buried Mrs. Mary Nwatu, a 70-year-old woman, in a shallow grave in September 2024.

In a statement made available on Thursday by DSP Daniel Ndukwe, Police Public Relations Officer, Enugu State Command, he said the suspects were arrested by the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad.

According to Ndukwe, “Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim was reported missing on September 15, 2024, after all efforts to locate her proved unsuccessful.

“On October 5, 2024, Ikechukwu Okoye, identified as the principal suspect and a kinsman of the victim, began contacting her children, demanding a ransom of six million Naira (N6,000,000.00).

“Upon his arrest, which followed credible intelligence reports, Okoye confessed to kidnapping Mrs. Nwatu on September 14, 2024, around 8:00 a.m.

“He stated that the victim came to their house to look for his mother when he kidnapped, murdered, and buried her in a shallow grave inside an uncompleted building in the compound.”

He added that “Ikechukwu Okoye also confessed to demanding a ransom from the victim’s children, initially asking for six million Naira (N6,000,000.00), which was later negotiated to three million Naira (N3,000,000.00).

“He eventually received payment of twenty thousand Naira (N20,000.00), which was for him to allow the children to hear their mother’s voice via the phone before further payments.

“On her part, Juliet Ogbodo, who is Okoye’s intimate girlfriend, confessed to being aware of the crime but failed to report it to the police or any other relevant authorities.

“The victim’s remains have been exhumed and deposited at a mortuary for preservation and autopsy. The suspects, along with any other individuals found complicit in this heinous crime, will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.”