From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
One of the five people abducted Saturday along Benin-Lagos road, Rev Sister Emmanuella Anyanwu, has said her abductors had asked her if she could pay N10 million to secure her release.
She disclosed this while narrating her ordeal to reporters at the State Police Command in Benin City.
‘On Friday, we were coming from Lagos to the East and our vehicle broke down around Okada in the outskirts of Benin. We passed the night in the vehicle,’ she said.
‘At about 6:30 am to 7 am, some men came out from the bush shooting at us and we surrendered.
‘They took our belongings including our phones and matched us into the bush. It took us almost two hours to get to their camp. They blindfolded us.
‘So, they started calling us one after the other and I was the last person they called. They asked me where I was coming from and where I was going.
‘I told them that I was coming from Lagos and going to Imo State for my husband’s burial. They asked how many kids I have, I told them two and I also told them I sell groundnut in Lagos.
‘They asked if I was the one providing the money to bury my husband and I told them his brother will do that. They also wanted to know what my sister is doing and I told them she sells bread in the village.
‘They asked if I know them, I said no. They asked if I know the police and army, I told them I know those ones. They told me they were kidnappers and said they abducted me because of ransom.
‘They said if I don’t have money they will take my life. I asked them how much they wanted. But one of them was furious I was asking them questions.
‘I told them I needed to know the ransom. They asked if I had N10 million and I told them there was no way to get that kind of money.
‘I told them I will give them N500,000 from money gathered from my village. One of them said I was a fool and they told me to sit down.
‘Then it started raining heavily and they went away and brought one man again.’
She said she miraculously escaped and traced her way with the help of a mobile mask.
‘So, they took something from that man and their attention was on it. So, I remove my blindfold and decide to escape but I decided to shelve the plan till midnight. But my spirit told me to escape because I would not have the opportunity to do so in the night because the abductors don’t sleep in the night. I crept and that was how I escaped.
‘I saw a mast far away and I started trekking towards it. After one hour or more, I got to a road and saw an elderly man on a motorcycle and I asked him to take me to the police station, which he did. We were two ladies and three men,’ she said.
Anyanwu said she sustained some wounds while trying to escape.
‘They were very harsh and warned us not to look at their faces, they also warned us not to talk to each other. They were beating the men but spared the women. I sustained the wounds on my body when I was trying to find my way out of the bush,’ she said.
When asked if she was aware of the death of one Olajide Sowore, she said she only witnessed the shooting but could not tell if anyone died.
‘They were shooting at cars but I cannot say if anyone died,’ she said.