Lagos Businessman, Adefemi Opeyemi, Abducted Twice with Wife and Kids

A Lagos based, Nigerian businessman, Mr Adefemi Opeyemi Sodiq, has appealed to the authorities to save his life and that of members of his immediate family members from regular threats by strange persons. According to Sodiq, during a chat with this news medium, he has not been able to live in one location for too long with his family following visits by these strange people he believes were behind his abduction twice within two months.

He had to flee his known address with his wife and children after they were kidnapped for the second time by the same group and paid heavy ransom before they were released. He was first abducted alone, according to him, and his friends paid for his release. But his captors went back two weeks later and kidnapped him, his wife and three children. Sodiq disclosed that the second abduction took them about three months to be released.

Presently, he said that he had to run away from his home while his wife and children fled elsewhere when he noticed that members of the group that kidnapped them were still after them for reasons he doesn’t understand. Sodiq declared that, unless help comes fast, the harm he is facing with members of his family is very serious.

His words:

“I was travelling from Sango in Ogun State, Nigeria. While on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, I was kidnapped by about twelve of these young men. I was in captivity for many days. We trekked inside the forest for about 70 kilometers and I was being tortured as we walked in the forest.

I was with my abductors for over 30 days. I was asked for my home address and I gave it to them. I never knew they were going to visit my house. They had actually asked me to give them the phone numbers of persons they could make a contact with for ransom. I gave them the numbers of some of my friends whom I knew could be of help.

But I think they were not satisfied with the responses they were getting and at one point, they threatened to shoot me dead and dump my body in the bush if I didn’t find a way to let my friends know that I was in danger and convince them to pay. I was given the phone and spoke to a few of my friends and begged them to please assist me to raise some money. My abductors actually demanded N25 million. But I begged them that I am a young man trying to survive.

They didn’t agree at first. They started beating me one after the other at that point. When they realized that I was telling the truth and there was no way they could sieve that huge sum out of me, they agreed to take whatever my friends could raise. I noticed that God was interfering in my case; He was touching their hearts.

All these while, I never knew they had actually visited my house. It was one of those sent there that divulged it while they were torturing me. Luckily, my wife and children were not at home. Their plan was to abduct my wife and children too. Thank God, my friends raised money and I was released. Surprisingly, these same people came to my house two weeks later and abducted me with my wife, Taibat Bukola and our three children namely Amidat Adewunmi, AlAmeen Owolabi and Aliyat Irorunola. This time we were with them in the bush for so long. We were able to raise money again to meet their demand.

After the second abduction, I noticed that strange faces now frequented my house vicinity. This was not the case before I was first abducted. From then on, my family became scared of the environment. I then understood that the people behind my abduction were trying to make it a regular affair. So I relocated my family to a friends’ house and I was moving from one friend’s house to another because I noticed that there was more to my abduction saga than the ordinary.

Now, my family and I could not stay in one place for too long.”