- The kidnappers contacted the family through Christiana’s phone and requested the ransom
A 300-level student from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Christiana Idowu, was reportedly abducted along the Ikorodu-Yaba Road in Ogun State last week.
According to a family member who spoke anonymously to The Punch on Monday, the kidnappers initially demanded a N3m ransom for her release. Christiana was on her way from her home in Itaoluwo, Ikorodu, to the University of Lagos for her industrial training when she was seized by the abductors.
After being unreachable for some time, the kidnappers contacted the family through Christiana’s phone and requested the ransom. The family negotiated the amount down to N350,000, which they transferred, but the kidnappers refused to release her. They instead demanded proof of the transaction before considering her release.
“They are communicating with us through her WhatsApp, and although we managed to reduce the ransom from N3m to N350,000, they still haven’t let her go. Now they want us to provide the bank statement of the account we used for the transfer,” the source said.
The family, now overwhelmed, has reported the case to the police and is appealing for help from the government and the public.
When contacted, Ogun State’s Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Folashade Oluwole, said she was unaware of the incident but promised to follow up. She had not responded further at the time of filing this report.