After 64 days in captivity, one of the six students of Lagos Model College, Igbonla, Epe, yesterday, narrated their horrifying experience in kidnappers’ den.
According to him, they were held in three camps at different times.
The boy, who spoke anonymously because the released students had allegedly been asked not to speak to journalists by security agents, said they were beaten by their captors and starved of food because their parents refused to pay the ransom the kidnappers demanded.
The students, abducted on May 25 after some gunmen stormed their school, had been released to security agents in Ondo State on Friday. They were brought to Lagos, yesterday, and received by the state Deputy Governor, Dr (Mrs) Oluranti Adebule.
Later yesterday, the students were handed over to their parents after undergoing treatment at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). Some of the parents, however, said they would take their children to other hospitals for more treatment, even as they expressed appreciation to Lagos State government for picking the bills for the boys’ treatment at LASUTH. One of the parents who allowed her son to speak before taking him to a private hospital in Ajah, insisted his story must be told on strict condition of anonymity, adding that they were under instruction from security agents not to speak to journalists on their kidnapping. Narrating his story, the boy said: “We were taken away in speed boats on the day the kidnappers struck. “They told us not to play smart by attempting to put up any struggle, saying it would lead to our death. We sailed for close to two hours before we reached a camp made of woods. We met another group of people at the camp eating and drinking. One of them was directed to take our parents telephone numbers, after they announced to us that we had been kidnapped. “We spent two days at the camp before we were relocated. Nobody could tell the exact time they relocated us because it was dark”. The boy explained that at the second camp, three of them were allowed to speak with their parents. “At a point, we lost count of the number of days we had spent in captivity. “By this time, they started beating us. We were also starved of food because they said our parents were not cooperating with them and that they had run out of food stuff. ‘’Whenever they beat us, one of them would caution them to stop, that we were not responsible for the delay in payment. One day, we overheard them saying that some of their members had been arrested. They became furious and blamed the cause on our parents’ delay to pay. This was when they became brutal. We feared the worst could happen. ‘’I fasted and prayed fervently for God’s intervention during my stay with them. “Again, like the first time, one of them woke us, while sleeping, to go into a boat. This time around, they took us on a journey that took several hours before we got to the third camp. None of us knew where we were. Sometimes they would threaten us that we were at a point of no return, if the money they needed was not brought. “Ironically, it was at this camp that we were well fed. At times they gave us pounded yam and Egusi soup, jollof rice and noodles. According to him, on the day they were released, the kidnapped boys had thought they were being relocated again. “Even when the security agents that came to pick us arrived, we thought they were another group of captors because some of our captors also wore uniforms,” he said. “I am happy to be back home”.
Meanwhile, another parent of one of the released students said her son fell ill in the kidnappers’ den due to the harsh condition he was exposed to. Yet another, Mr Moruf Ramon, disclosed that he slumped during the period of waiting for his son’s return. The former stated that her son had only resumed school, after being discharged from the hospital, when he was abducted. She added that they were informed that he fell ill again while in the captors den. The parent however, declined request to speak with her son. Her words: “Please you can’t speak with him because he has really gone through a lot. He took ill while with them because of the trauma he faced. “ He was examined on Friday night and the doctors told us to come back to the hospital. But he is okay now”.
Well wishers besieged the home of Mr. Ramon who expressed gratitude to the police, particularly Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, and the Commander, Rapid Response Squad, Olatunji Disu, for keeping in touch with the affected families during their moments of trouble. “Both officers really changed my perspective about the police. They were so encouraging,’’ he said. “I was the kidnappers’ contact person and for three days, we (parents) were meeting at Epe. The CP was aware of our meeting and he guided us on every step we took”.
He disclosed that during the long wait for the students, he was admitted three times in the hospital. “It was a terrible period for my family. My wife isn’t here now because she is still receiving treatment. The shock hit her terribly. For me, I became a shadow of myself. I slumped and was on admission for days. The period of waiting was a period of sleepless nights.
