A Twitter user simply identified as Temmy on Saturday sounded the alarm on the new tactics adopted by kidnappers disguised as Bolt users in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

In a series of tweet, he revealed how his friend who works as a Bolt driver was left nearly unconscious after inhaling smoke from his passenger. 

“My friend who does Bolt told me how he picked up two guys for a trip somewhere in Ibadan. Just as the car moved, the one at the back spoke in Hausa while the one in front responded in Yoruba, then the one in front pleaded to smoke while insisting that the windows must be wound up,” his tweet reads in part.

Temmy said his friend was initially reluctant but eventually gave in after the passengers pleaded with him. “After a while, my friend’s eyes became discomforting and he immediately parked and requested to end the trip. These guys pleaded and offered an extra tip,” he said.

“Because the spot he parked in wasn’t populated, he drove to a spot where there was a large crowd who could run to his aide in case of an ambush, then insisted that they get off his car. They kept pestering him with higher tips, but ‘baba’ insisted that he was done for the day.”

The passengers agreed to alight only if they were taken to their preferred ATM where they would withdraw some money to pay for the ride. Although there was an ATM close to where they stood, the passengers insisted on making use of another ATM, an idea that did not sit well with Temmy’s friend.

“They tried to turn it into a fight by refusing to pay; my friend told them to keep the money. One of them then alighted to withdraw the cash, paid for the trip and offered even a higher tip, this time, while flaunting the money he had withdrawn,” said Temmy. 

“My guy ‘sha’ insisted that he wouldn’t move an inch from the spot he was unless they alighted from his car. They finally did and my guy went home. Homeboy said he slept off the second he got home and for the following three days, he was sick and barely did nothing all day but sleep.

“It was at that point he realised that whatever the passenger smoked was a local sedative meant to knock him out. It explains why they asked to smoke with the glass wound up. If he had agreed to take the extra cash, he’d have lost his car by now, or worse, been kidnapped. Be vigilant out there; folks are desperate and wild!”