Two weeks after he was abducted near his home in Ora, Osun State, a retired Customs officer, Emmanuel Owolabi, is yet to regain his freedom due to his family’s inability to meet the N200 million ransom demanded by his captors.
The PUNCH reported that on Monday, December 15, gunmen attacked Ora, a community along the Osun/Kwara State boundary, and abducted Owolabi.
Titilayo Owolabi, the victim’s wife, told The PUNCH that her husband was seized in front of their home along Akisa Road shortly before 7pm.
“When I closed this evening at my shop around 6:30pm, my husband came around and asked me to go home. When I got home, I cooked and I was about serving my children their food when I heard a gunshot. I thought those firing the shots were the hunters that came around but the gunshots [were] sporadic. I later heard my husband’s voice outside our fence,” she said.
She recounted how she discovered the attack: “I didn’t know he was being held by the bandits. I went out to check what was happening. One of the gunmen jumped over the fence into our compound. Those I saw are young boys. I knelt down and spoke Hausa language to him because they were speaking Hausa. Instead of him to respond, he started beating me.
“He asked me for money. When all that was going on, they were firing shots. The next thing I heard was the sound of a motorcycle conveying my husband heading towards the bush. The two gunmen in our compound jumped over the fence into the bush and fled. My husband is a retired Customs officer. People should help us bring him back home safely.”
The gunmen also shot dead a village chief, identified only as Dennis, who was returning from his farm.
Two days after the abduction, the kidnappers reportedly demanded N200 million for Owolabi’s release. A source close to the family, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “They used Owolabi’s phone number to call us. We are so scared but we are hopeful that he will come out alive.”
Despite continued negotiations, Owolabi remains in the hands of the abductors, although he has been allowed to speak with some family members. The source added: “We are still negotiating with them. They are insisting on N200m ransom, but we can’t afford it. We are begging them. They are reaching out to us.
“He is alive. He was allowed to speak with some members of the family. We offered an amount, but they considered it too small. We are hopeful he will be released soon. He is still with the abductors.”
The Police/Public Relations Officer for Osun Police Command, Abiodun Ojelabi, said operatives are continuing search and rescue efforts but lamented lack of cooperation from the family.
“It is very unfortunate because the family did not inform us when the kidnappers called. We only heard about it from an outsider. They didn’t give us the details we needed. They are not coming forward with information that can be of great help.
“Although we are working with the little we have, the anti-kidnapping squad has been on top of the situation,” Ojelabi said.
