UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH VICTIM OF A KIDNAP ATTACK

Titipetral:                            Can we meet you?

Ayodeji:                               My name is Ayodeji Afolami, I am an Agronomist by profession.

Titipetral:                            So what happened on that ill-fated day?

Ayodeji:                               It was on Wednesday, 4^th of August, 2021, I went to my farm at Ibara-Orile in Abeokuta, with my friend and business partner, Bayonle. We were to carry out some activities on the farm, to spray our tomato seedlings and to irrigate the farm. We were done with the irrigation so I had told my partner to go and put-off the engine that we had placed in the river, while I continue the spraying. So as I was spraying the tomato, I looked back and saw five guys dressed in Camouflage like they were some form of Military men, brandishing AK 47 guns. Only one of them had his face covered exactly like the book-haram guys that we usually see on the internet.

Titipetral:                           Just one and not all of them covered his face?

Ayodeji:                               Yes, only one has his face covered, the remaining didn’t cover their faces, but some of them used Camouflage face-caps. So at the point I stared further and sensed they were not actually military persons, that was when I started running farther into the bush. I fell down and began to run again as they pursued.

Titipetral:                            Did they say anything to you that made you sped off?

Ayodeji:                               They didn’t say anything.

Titipetral: So why were you running away?

Ayodeji: Looking at them alone they really looked so suspicious which was why I started running. Unfortunately, they caught up with me and immediately they collected all what I had on me. My phone, wallet.……..

Titipetral:                            (cuts-in) where was your partner at this time?

Ayodeji:                               He went to off the engine that we were using at a safer distance. He saw them as well, but he hid himself in the river. They also saw him, but they seem to have diverted all the attention on me so they didn’t go back to check if he was still there or not. Then after they had collected all I had on me, phone, wallets, 3 of them led, putting me in the middle, then 2 others were at my back and we started trekking into the thick forest. With my barefoot since my sandals had been thrown off. We then trekked for like 3 hours in that forest and when we got to a particular area, we sat down under the tree. This was around 12:30pm.

Titipetral:                            At this time was there any word from them to you for you to know their tribe, mission or something?

Ayodeji:                               Yes, looking at them alone you would know that they were Fulanis, judging from the tribal marks on their faces. They now asked if I have heard anything about kidnapping before, I said No, they now said, well, you have been kidnapped.

Titipetral:                            Were they speaking in English or what language?

Ayodeji:                               They all spoke in English but two of them particularly spoke in Yoruba.

Titipetral:                            Wow??

Ayodeji:                               Yes, then they said, now that you have been kidnapped, the mission is to kill you or you pay. I said, they should not kill me that I would pay. They said they will collect 30 million Naira, and that how much do I have in my account? I told them that if I had 30 Million Naira, I would not be at the point where they saw me farming, that all I have in my account was 35,000 Naira. So we started trekking again further into the bush and then we got to a place in the bush, we sat down after over another 3 hours of trekking. We sat down there till around 8pm when two of them left, remaining 3. Those 2 went to buy what they would eat. They bought Garri and beans.

Titipetral:                            How long were they gone? Do they appear like they know that vicinity too well or were just risking it too?

Ayodeji:                               They seemed to know the bush too well. They actually went for only a few hours to get food. They came back around 10pm. And after eating, they smoked hemp and drank alcohol and they said I should call my families that they need 30 million naira or they’ll kill me. So they brought out my phone and asked me to call. As I was speaking with my families, they began to ask me questions like, do I have parents and I said No, that they were late. They asked about my wife, I said she is a baker who is also managing to survive. So they said I should call my brothers, sisters etc. As I was making the call, they cut off a very big tree branch, not a cane o, a very big tree, they hit it on my head and began to beat me seriously. I started crying and begging them to please have mercy on me. So making the calls, my families too were so scared. At around 12 am, we started trekking again, till about 3 am inside the bush.

Titipetral:                            As a farmer around that axis, are you by any chance familiar with that bush?       

Ayodeji:                               Not at all. It is a place that I have never been to. And the place we were trekking for longer than normal number of hours? No way that I could have remembered how we had journeyed. I just know that immediately they abducted me, we crossed to the other side of the main road and that was it for me. Even though they didn’t cover my face, I can’t still remember how the journey had went. So we then trekked for another few hours, and at that 3am, we got to another place. They cleared the bush, and we all slept on the bare floor despite the fact that it had started raining. The rain fell on all of us till it was dawn. And then at dawn, at around 7am, they said that I should call my family again, asking them how much that they can get. My families had rallied round to get 500,000 Naira.  They said that they cannot take 500,000 Naira, that they would kill me. Then they said they would reduce the ransom to 15, 000,000 Naira. I started pleading and begging again and then they began to beat me. Then they warned that if I should mention 500,000 Naira as the available ransom, that they would shoot me. One of them now asked again, that how much have they gathered? I said 500,000 Naira, he then cocked the gun and shot at me.

Titipetral:                            Wait, what? They shot at you? (Puzzled).

Ayodeji:                               Yes, they shot me, but to the glory of God, the bullet fell down.

Titipetral:                            What?

Ayodeji:                               They now said, oh wow, you came with juju, and I said No. They now said that they were going to kill me. They now began to use the end of the gun to hit my head, leg and other parts of my body. After which they brought out a cutlass that has long ends like that of a sword, very long one like that with a double edge, they used that one to hit me, one of them now smatched it on my legs to cut it, but it still didn’t go through.

Titipetral:                            Wait first, are you a traditionally fortified person?           

Ayodeji:                               Yes, fortified with the blood of Jesus.

Titipetral                             Oh!

Ayodeji:                               Then they became so annoyed that they shot at me it didn’t go through, same with cutlass and I was not affected, they now promised to deal with me ruthlessly. In the process of me pleading for mercy, they reminded that there was a car belonging to me at the farm. That I should call my people to go and take it for sales and then add it up to the ransom. I told them that a car is not like a bread or beans that could be sold instantaneously, many times it could take several months before one is able to sell a car. Besides, the car is not in good condition. They said that it should be taken to borrow money and add to what has been gathered. So my families then went to tow the car from my farm as suggested to borrow 200,000 with an interest of 50,000 Naira to be paid in two weeks. This then went up to the sum of 700,000 Naira. This was around 6am the next day. They now said if my family can get around 1million Naira, that night, they would release me, otherwise, they would increase it the next day. My families then intensified their efforts and were able to take it up to a Million Naira. They now said, the one Million Naira is actually small, but that ‘something’ should be added to it. Probably a hundred thousand Naira to make it up to 1.1 million Naira. That was around 8pm, one which my family did. They now said my friend that had escaped from the farm should be the one to bring the money to a certain location. And even said when he is coming, he should buy them rice and beans, with fish and meat, soft drink….

Titipetral:                            (cuts-in) Cooked food or raw?

Ayodeji:                               Cooked. And then alcohol and Cigarettes.

Titipetral:                            Sighs!!

Ayodeji:                               Then my friend and a few others started coming at around 9pm. So when he got to the point of meeting up,………

Titipetral:                            Do you know the place where they told him to meet up with them?

Ayodeji:                               Yes I do. It was at the junction of the farm, very close to the place where they abducted me from, that was the meeting point. So as they had called on him to start coming, we also began to trek towards the said point. We then trekked till around 1 am on Friday. When we got there, we met with my friend the ransom bearer and they collected the money. They counted it to be sure it was complete. They then proceeded to ensure that he tasted all the food that he brought to be sure that it is not poisoned. They now ate the food, drank and smoked too. They now led us back to the road I do not even know now. But noticeably, as they were coming, the people that brought the money, four of them went to meet them, and one of them was standing by me. So as they were coming, they were cutting leaves by the road, to create a route sort of for where the people that brought the money would pass in the bush without getting lost. After collecting the money and counting it, they now led us to a particular place and asked us to go. They said when we turn right that we would see the leaf they had cut to guide us to a known place. As we were going, they shot again,

Titipetral:                            Shot at you again?

Ayodeji:                               I don’t think so, maybe they did that to scare us, we now ran and then we heard another gunshot and run as fast as our legs could carry us. We got home at around 3:30 am.

Titipetral:                            Were you able to get through to their phone numbers that they had called your family members with afterwards?        

Ayodeji:                               Not at all, they called my family members with my phone all through. Even at some point when I ran out of credit, I was asked to recharge from my bank account. There was also a time they asked me to transfer the remaining cash in my bank account to my family members to add to what they’re gathering as ransom. At this time, I ran out of credit again and they requested me to borrow credit from MTN.           

Titipetral:                            Oh wow!! (Sigh). So have you been able to go back to the farm since then?

Ayodeji:                               I will never go back to that farm again in my life because the trauma alone thinking about the scenario is killing, how much more visiting. Thank God for my former boss, the founder of OPE FARMS, Barrister Sowemimo. I worked with her for two years. She was the one that paid a therapist working on my mental health because the trauma alone is killing. Each time I close my eyes to sleep for instance, I still see those guys so I cannot actually sleep without sleeping pills. You now asking me to go back to that farm is like asking me to embark on a suicide mission. Unfortunately, that is where all of my life’s investment and savings were.

Titipetral:                            What is the farm size?

Ayodeji:                               3 hectares.

Titipetral:                            What have you planted on them?

Ayodeji:                               Ugwu, Tomatoes, Okro, some indigenous vegetables too.

Titipetral:                            Can you sum up your loss in Naira and Kobo as per the farmland and the crop on it?

Ayodeji:                               It is not anything less than 5 Million Naira because my target was to be exporting all these vegetables, which we have even contacted the quarantine officers in Lagos. This thing happened on the day they were supposed to come for inspection to certify our farm worthy. And going by this incidence, they would also not want to come to visit that kind of vulnerable area to supervise because of their own safety too. So the intent of partnering with us now is totally forfeited. All the things that we had done like the Good Agricultural practice, an international standard, not all farmer practices it, we make sure our produce meets up with international standard, is all gone and ended now. The people that was to help push our goods out of Nigeria are also aware of what has happened and are also scared of visiting now. Even me that owns the farm can’t go back there.

Titipetral:                            Did you ask your family members if they by any chance contacted the law enforcement agents during the process of looking for ransom for your release?

Ayodeji:               Yes, they said they involved police officers, vigilantes, the Amotekuns and others came to that area where I was kidnapped.

Titipetral:                            After your abduction right?

Ayodeji:                               Yes. They came after my abduction to search and comb the area the first and second day, patrolling but it wasn’t easy for them to locate us because in reality, we have trekked for unimaginable number of hours already into the forest. The police and team were probably just paraphrasing the area they thought we might be, but we had gone farther.

Titipetral:                            So now that you are back, what are the law enforcement agents saying?

Ayodeji:                               Well, one police head reached out to my friend from Imala that we should come to make a formal complaint, but unfortunately since I came back from captivity, I have been at Ibadan receiving medical attention. So when I am fit, I would do just that.

Titipetral:                            Looking back at all that had happened to you in the last two weeks, how do feel right now? What exactly is going through your mind? What do you wished had happened being a Nigerian in Nigeria?

Ayodeji:                               (Long Sighs) Honestly, I feel better now. I mean mentally than before because I think today makes it two weeks so I feel better than before.(interview was condcuted on wednesday) Oh well: Nigeria? I was telling a friend yesterday that a Congo of garri that is being sold for 500 Naira now, or 800 Naira would go up to 2000 Naira before the end of this year if care is not taken. Because of me alone, not a smaller number of fellow farmers have withdrawn from their farms. They have vowed never to go back to their farms again. They’d kidnapped someone at his cassava farm and he cannot go back, so also me that was from my vegetable farm can also not go back. If this continues for another three months, who will now go to the farm to produce what we will all feed on? So I think the Government as usual as failed us, especially those of us young entrepreneurs by not being up and doing with security of lives and property. We graduated, no job yet we created jobs for ourselves but that place of work now is what we are now scared of visiting because of the state of insecurity.

Titipetral:                            I also think the awareness should go round on the need for adequate security for our farmers.

Ayodeji:                               Exactly.

Titipetral:                            I am really sorry for what you had to go through Ayodeji, God will restore your loss.

Ayodeji: Amen.

                                       With his permission though, I have decided to post out his contact details and account number for whoever wants to bless him with cash gifts to at least be a respite to his already troubled soul and loss.

Telephone:    08032466515

E-mail:       juliusafolami08@gmail.com

GTB, 0163484577, Afolami Julius Ayodeji