How a Woman was Kidnapped & Released in Lagos Few Weeks after Relocating to Nigeria from the U.S
The recent kidnap of 29-year-old Kemisola
Ogunyemi, a lady who returned to Nigeria with her husband to bury her
late mother and settle down has stirred up some apprehension among Nigerians
living abroad who plan to return home.
Kemisola lost her mother on Wednesday 26th
December 2012 and returned to Nigeria with her husband, Akin from the United
States for the burial after living there for about a year. Sadly, she was
kidnapped at about 8.30pm in Ajah, Lagos on Sunday 10th February 2013.
She was kidnapped about one minute’s drive to her
Abraham Adesanya Estate home in Ajah. A family member who spoke anonymously told
Punch:
“Kemisola and her husband
just got an apartment in Abraham Adesanya Estate. In fact, they moved in less
than a month ago. The day she was kidnapped, she was coming back from a visit to
her father who lives in Ikorodu. When she got to Jeffery Plaza, which is about a
minute’s drive to her house, some men double-crossed her Murano Sport Utility
Vehicle, took control of the car and took her away in it. We actually got the
details from people who witnessed it around the plaza. They said the kidnappers
shot into the air and zoomed away with her in the car.”
The following day, her SUV was discovered in the
front of Ogombo Police Station, Ajah with one of her shoes in it. The kidnappers
later called her husband with Kemisola’s phone, Punch reports.
“They called about 11.41 am
on Monday. The speaker clearly sounded like an Igbo man. He said, ‘Where are
you?’ But when Yinka said he was in the house, the speaker asked again ‘Are you
sure? Are you sure you are in the house? Yinka insisted that he was in the
house. He told them he wanted to speak with Kemisola and they gave the phone to
her. Kemi sounded very distraught on the phone. She was begging her husband to
please help her and do everything the men demanded.”
But it was learnt that the kidnappers
disconnected the call after they instructed Yinka to call them later by 2pm on
Monday. The kidnappers later called on Monday night and demanded N60 million for
Kemisola’s release, the relation told Punch.
“When they asked for the
money, we were all shocked. We pleaded with them, but they were threatening to
kill her. How do we get N60 million? We are not politicians. Yinka is just a
salary earner while Kemisola has not even got a job since they got back to
Nigeria.”
On Tuesday, the kidnappers called again with
their own number, sounding anxious and insisting that the N60 million should be
paid as soon as possible. She said the kidnappers called about 10 times
repeating their demand and asking when it would be paid.
“The man who spoke on the
phone said, ‘We will kill her if you don’t pay. We kidnapped two other women and
we have already killed them because they did not pay what we demanded’.”
But thankfully, a family member, who spoke with
Punch last night confirmed that Kemisola has been
released.
“Kemi told us she was beaten
brutally. They dropped her off along the Lekki-Epe Expressway around 8pm on
Thursday. Luckily, she was able to get help from motorists and later contacted
us. We paid the ransom on Thursday morning after the kidnappers played different
tricks to ensure they evaded capture. They thought we had involved the police.
We just thank God we have her back. But she’s not in any condition to answer any
questions for now. She is resting.”
This unfortunate incidence coming just weeks
after this family returned back home with the intention of settling down must
have raised a lot of doubts about the decision and the security situation in
Nigeria. The rate of kidnappings keeps rising daily and Nigerians are very upset
about this.