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Kidnap Victim

16.08.2024 Featured ‘Put Aboniki for Him Eye’ — Lady Recounts Experience With ‘One Chance’ Kidnappers in Lagos

Published 16th Aug, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

Adedeji Oyindamola, a Lagos State resident known on X as @_oyinpounds, has recounted her traumatic experience in the hands of kidnappers who paraded themselves as commercial drivers.

It appeared like a private car, but the men in the vehicle signalled it was Victoria Island-bound when she boarded it in the Maryland area on August 8. In Lagos, it is common for some private car owners to offer passengers rides for a fee while going to or returning from work.

Shortly after entering the car, it turned out that the men were criminals. The kidnappers, five of them, masked her face and strangulated her from the backseat.

After seeing her narration on X, FIJ reached out to her via WhatsApp on Friday and she granted her permission for this story to be published.

READ ALSO: Lagos Journalist Escapes One-Chance Robbery by a Whisker

“Exactly one week ago, I was abducted. I’m a BGV (background vocalist) on a popular morning prayer my Church hosts, called NLP, and at least once a week, I have to show up to serve in my father’s house. This particular Thursday was no different. The previous night was midweek service,” Oyindamola wrote.

“So I got home pretty late and didn’t know what to have for dinner. After visiting a nearby supermarket, I settled for zobo. It had a weird taste at the first gulp but I wasn’t about to waste money so I downed it like that, damning the consequences.

“That night was long as I purged all through and didn’t get enough sleep. I usually would leave my house between 4:50 and 5:05 am so that I can meet the call time which is usually 6 am, but due to my stomach issues I left home at 5:20 am. I was running behind schedule so I was quite distracted and in a hurry.

https://twitter.com/_oyinpounds/status/1824031088269754606

“I got to Maryland Bus-stop and usually I’d take a bus going to Lekki/Ajah as my destination was Marwa, but because of time I told myself I was gonna settle for the first vehicle I hear(sic) going to the Island.

“Less than a minute later, I heard a Sienna call ‘VI’ and I ran to make it to the vehicle without any proper look or scrutiny. This was where my nightmare started.

“As I got in, the vehicle moved and in less than a minute windows were wound up and, in my head, I was thinking, “Oh he wants to turn on the AC.” Before I could say Jack Robinson, someone started strangling me from behind. I was pulled by 3 men to the middle of the vehicle and all I could think of was Jesus as I was screaming that.

“Punches started flying from everywhere to my face. My bag was taken, and I was pinned to the middle of the vehicle with my neck in the wrong posture. It was horrifying. It felt like a bad dream and I wanted to wake up. I realised there were 5 men in total. How do I fight off 5 men? So I calmed down and told myself that I’d cooperate with whatever they said.”

N2 MILLION RANSOM

In a twinkle of an eye, they collected her bank cards and placed a N2 million ransom on her head, threatening that the amount could be increased if she couldn’t get it in a short period of time.

In this state of helplessness, she was forced to speak with her contacts who had to quickly raise the money to avoid the worst.

Armed with a point of sale (POS) machine, these criminals withdrew the money as it entered the victim’s bank account.

“First, they brought out my wallet and took all my cards and started asking how much was in each card and I was responding as calm as I could’ve been, considering the situation. Apparently, the responses weren’t satisfactory so they brought out an iron rod and started hitting my knee repeatedly; I was begging and screaming,” Oyindamola wrote.

“All this time, they had my eyes covered so I couldn’t see a thing. They emptied all my accounts using the cards because they had a POS machine with them (I could hear them punch it). After that was done, they told me they were taking me to their camp and I should start calling my contacts for ransom, that if they didn’t get N2 million, they would gang-rape me and ask for N20 million from my folks.

“I was confused. Who do I call to raise N2 million at this time of the day? They removed what they used to cover my face and made me start calling numbers I had saved; 95% of them didn’t pick up, and as that was happening, they were displeased and that intensified the beating: Choking me, hitting my knee and ankle, punches to my stomach. I was helpless!

“They asked me to remove my iCloud from my iPhone 13 Pro Max, but I couldn’t remember the password. This caused more beating.

“Eventually, a friend of mine picked and they spoke to him. My music director, too, picked and they all started running around gathering funds. These evil men made sure all funds were sent to one of my accounts while they used the POS for withdrawal. It seemed as though the funds they were getting weren’t satisfactory enough, so they told me to call more people. At this point, I didn’t know who else to call and told them this.”

STRIPPED NAKED

While she was battling with how to raise the ransom, her kidnappers decided to de-clothe her, threatening to take turns to rape her in the car.

“They weren’t happy with that response, so they decided to strip me naked right there, tore my bra and whatever I was wearing underneath. They took off my trousers and threatened to rape me. While they were doing all of this, someone else was calling numbers and another was hitting my knee with the iron rod,” she further explained.

“At this point, I was so tired; pleading, praying, confused. I was muttering the popular Psalm 23 and I kept repeating, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. The ones choking me at the back heard that and started punching my face, I decided I was gonna continue saying it in my head.

“Mind you, I was completely naked at this point, after some time (I don’t know how long). The one that seemed like their leader said “make we drop am” but the other guy that was hitting my knee said no, that I looked like they could still get more money from me.

“At this point, they started taking me to their “camp,” saying they would kill and sell my body parts.

“I was extremely helpless, but kept quoting that scripture in my head. After much deliberation, they all agreed at some point to drop me off. They started wearing my top and trousers back on me and started giving me instructions on what I should do if/when they drop me off.

“I just kept saying “yes sir” because if my response wasn’t convincing enough, I’d get more beating.”

ABONIKI BALM IN THE EYES

With the ransom now fully paid, the kidnappers had a short argument on whether to let her go or make her call more people to get more money. The resolution was to let her go, but not without inflicting more pain on her.

One of them directed that some quantity of Aboniki balm to applied to her eyeballs, blurring her sight and vision to prevent her from taking note of what the car looked like.

“After a while, I noticed the vehicle came to a halt and their “leader” said “put Abo for him eye”, abo was Aboniki balm!!

“They put a sizeable amount of Aboniki inside my eyes and drove to Anthony where they dropped me off, and told me to act normal or else they would come back to pick me up.

“They dropped me and I couldn’t see a thing. A kind old woman walked by at the time and saw that I was struggling to see. Then she asked me what happened and I said I was just dropped off by kidnappers. She then took me to that emergency fire service just by the Anthony Bridge, gave me a damp handkerchief to start cleaning my eyes.

“People started passing and I started begging for a phone to place a call because I could remember only 2 numbers in my head; my mom’s and a friend’s. I called my friend and it didn’t take long before one of them arrived at the scene to comfort me. I was weeping uncontrollably at this point, hoping it was all just a dream and I would wake up.

“I couldn’t walk without support. I couldn’t sit or stand because my neck was hurt and I was in so much pain. Another friend arrived in a vehicle and they rushed me to the hospital in excruciating pain. Doctors administered pain meds; I was taken for a scan immediately and put on strong sedatives.

READ ALSO: Anxiety, Fear of Public Buses… How One-Chance Robbery Affects Commuters’ Mental Health

“I spent the next two days in the hospital surrounded by friends and family.”

FIJ spoke with Oyindamola on Friday. In a WhatsApp chat, Oyindamola said that she was recovering well.

The background vocalist said that, though her phone and money were gone, she was grateful to God and everyone who had helped her in the past couple of days.

FIJ published a report in February about the spate of traffic kidnappings in Lagos and the trauma of survivors.

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Published 16th Aug, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

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