By joshua 
A lecturer in the Department of Public Administration at Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, Suleman Olatunji Tijani, and several other passengers have regained their freedom after spending four days in the custody of armed kidnappers along the Edo-Ondo border.
The victims were abducted on June 14, 2019, when gunmen intercepted their vehicle on a road linking the two states. Recounting the incident after his release, the lecturer said the attack occurred some minutes before 5:00 p.m.
“Boko Haram stopped the vehicle that was conveying me and other passengers along the Edo-Ondo border. The driver jumped out of the vehicle as soon as he sighted the gunmen, and I moved to the driver’s seat to gain control of the vehicle,” he said. “When I managed to regain control, we crashed, and I noticed that the pregnant woman beside me had started bleeding as a result of the commotion.”
According to the lecturer, about 14 armed men forced the captives to trek through a thick forest until daybreak. They were subsequently held under a tree in an area with dense vegetation and wildlife before the trek resumed the following morning.
Negotiations for their release began on the third day of captivity. The lecturer said the kidnappers seized his phone, and he directed them to contact his brother, Lanre Soliu Tijani, who took the lead in negotiating their release.
“The negotiations started at ₦10 million and continued for two days before they finally reached an agreement on the ransom,” he said.
An agreement was reached on the fourth night, and Lanre arrived with the ransom the following morning. After counting the money, the kidnappers briefly detained him at gunpoint as well, beat him and other victims, and damaged his phones for delaying the payment.
“They untied me and began beating me and others for 4 to 6 hours before we were released in the evening of June 18, 2019,” the lecturer recounted.
Following their release, the victims were taken to Auchi Police Station, where they made statements and recovered their bags, which had been left in the vehicle. They subsequently proceeded to a hospital for medical attention.
The abduction occurred amid a spate of kidnappings in the area around the same period. Another incident involved the abduction of a Catholic priest in Akoko-Edo. Police confirmed the victims’ release following the payment of ransom.