I would’ve been shot dead if I didn’t lie…— 23-yr-old kidnapped victim

A student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo state, Odey Regina Olayemi, who was abducted while working on a farm at Ago-Oyinbo village in Akure North council area of the state, has narrated her ordeal.

Olayemi, who was rescued by the state security outfit codenamed Amotekun, told newsmen in Akure, that she lied to her abductors that she was an orphan to save her life.

She ended up spending seven days in their captivity.

While describing her ordeal as horrific, the victim, disclosed that her parents paid N350,000 as ransom.

Meanwhile, 29 suspected criminals alleged to be involved in various criminal activities in the state in recent times, were paraded by the security outfit.

Narrating her ordeal,Olayemi said that “I went to the village to help my sisters before our resumption in order to get money to take to school.

“On that faithful day, we were at the farm and suddenly we saw these three Fulani men coming towards us. I told my sisters that I was going to run, but they said that I should not go anywhere that they are not going to do harm us.

“When they got to us, they asked us to kneel down and we knelt down. At that moment we started begging them. Two of them were with guns while the third person was holding cutlass.

” They later asked me to standup and told me to follow them, they took cassava stick and started beating me as we were going.

“I spent 7-day with them, they asked for my dad’s number but I told them that I did not know it off-hand because I have already lost my memory.

” I later lied to them that I have lost my parents, that they have died, that I just came to the village to help my sisters so that I will get money to take care of myself when I get back to school. One of them then said that they should not shoot me. That was what saved me.

“But one of them shouted that it was a lie, that they knew everything about my family and I later gave them my phone number because I was not with my phone on that day.

” Immediately I gave them my number, they started calling the phone but nobody picked it. Later one of my sister that came from Akure to our village picked the call and they informed her that they have kidnapped me.

“It was that my sister who now went to the Amotekun office to report before Amotekun swung into action to rescue me and I thank God that they rescued me.”

Speaking on the suspected criminals arrested, the state commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said that 20 of those paraded are suspected kidnappers.

Adeleye said that “The resurgence of kidnapping within the state made us to go deep into forests to fish out these kidnappers.

“We have a total number of 29 criminals, and about 20 of them are suspected kidnappers. We also invited all those that came to complaint that they were kidnapped in the last three to four months in the state and they were able to identify majority of them.

“As a matter of fact, we have to cross the river before we were able to arrest them, and we were equally attacked by majority of them.

“It was that my sister who now went to the Amotekun office to report before Amotekun swung into action to rescue me and I thank God that they rescued me.”

Speaking on the suspected criminals arrested, the state commander of Amotekun, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said that 20 of those paraded are suspected kidnappers.

Adeleye said that “The resurgence of kidnapping within the state made us to go deep into forests to fish out these kidnappers.

“We have a total number of 29 criminals, and about 20 of them are suspected kidnappers. We also invited all those that came to complaint that they were kidnapped in the last three to four months in the state and they were able to identify majority of them.

“As a matter of fact, we have to cross the river before we were able to arrest them, and we were equally attacked by majority of them.

We also found out that these criminals live in our forests along Ala-Dada, Jugbere, up to Ijagba and we were able to comb the forests.

“Some of these criminals engage in feedings victims, charging their phones, and a lot of other things that they do.

The commander said that “This is to send a strong signal that even crossing the water will not deter Amotekun from fishing out these criminals out of Ondo state.