- Audu was only given cassava flakes (garri) to eat and wasn’t offered any water during his captivity.
- The Amotekun Corps, a local security team, responded promptly to Audu’s abduction.
- The leader of the Amotekun Corps, Adetunji Adeleye, explains that his team’s cohesive intelligence efforts led to the capture of six individuals responsible for the kidnapping
Bello Audu, a peasant farmer hailing from Akunnu Akoko in the Akoko Northeast Local Government Area of Ondo state, has recounted the harrowing tale of his abduction and subsequent rescue.
The 50-year-old Mr. Audu was successfully liberated by the Amotekun Corps after enduring five days of hunger and thirst within the kidnappers’ hideout.
Speaking to reporters in Akure on Monday, Mr. Audu detailed that he was in the midst of his usual 7:00 pm Muslim prayer at his residence in Akunnu Akoko when the culprits suddenly stormed in, subjecting him to physical assault with a stick.
He went on to explain that the group of about six abductors forcibly took him into the woods, where he was confined throughout the period of ransom negotiations with his family.
“I was in my house observing the 7:00 pm prayer as a Muslim when suddenly the men numbering about six walked up to me on the mat and flogged me with a stick.
“Some of them were carrying guns and they asked me to follow them. They led me from my house to the forest before they contacted my family asking for ransom so that they could release me from their hideout,” he said.
Mr Audu revealed that while he was in the hideout of the kidnappers, he was offered cassava flakes (Garri) for the five days he spent in their den, noting that he was not offered water to drink.
“While I was in their hideout, they only offered me small garri (cassava flake) to eat. They didn’t give me water throughout.
“I was later rescued by men of the Amotekun Corps when they wanted to collect the ransom brought for them for my release and the suspects were arrested,” he added.
Following the report of Mr. Audu’s abduction, Adetunji Adeleye, the leader of the Amotekun Corp, mentioned that the local security team promptly initiated their response.
Adeleye highlighted the apprehension of the six individuals responsible for Mr. Audu’s kidnapping, attributing their capture to the cohesive intelligence efforts of his corps’ personnel.
He elaborated that his team of “well-trained officers” adopted an undercover approach, posing as family members engaged in ransom negotiations, which ultimately led to the arrest of the suspects.
“And at the point of collecting the ransom already negotiated with them, three among the armed kidnappers who came to collect the money were arrested.
“Their arrest led to the arrest of other members of the gang at different locations in the state,” he added.
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