Kidnappers seize mother-in-law, brother during ransom payment for oil dealer

The abduction of a woman and her brother during ransom payment for their son-in-law who was freed by suspected kidnappers is giving their family sleepless nights as the victims’ whereabouts remain unknown more than one year after they were held by the hoodlums.

Life has not been the same for the Olowokandes since December 5, 2020, when the matriarch of the family, Mary Olowokande, and her brother, Mike Olurankinse, were seized by kidnappers in place of their son-in-law, Babatunde Awoyinfa.

According to the family, Awoyinfa, who their daughter, Kemi Olowokande has a child with, was kidnapped at his filling station in Ibogun area of Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State in November 2020. His abductors, who called his mother-in-law on the victim’s phone had demanded a sum of N50 million as ransom.

Worried by the incident, the woman was said to have raised the sum of N2 million from several sources and pleaded with the hoodlums to take the amount as what the family was able to raise.

The hoodlums were said to have asked the woman to drop the money at a location in Itori area of Ewekoro Local Government. While the woman left the family’s Lagos home with her brother to secure his son-in-law from his abductors, she had no inkling of the fate that awaited her until she and her brother were seized by the hoodlums while Awoyinfa was released.

According to one of the daughters of the woman, Adewunmi, the hoodlums warned the family against reporting the matter to the police if Awoyinfa was to be released alive.

Adewunmi said: “The kidnappers used Awoyinfa’s phone to speak with my mother and asked that the sum of N50 million be provided as ransom to secure Awoyinfa’s freedom.

“My mother was afraid that Awoyinfa might be killed by the hoodlums if no money was provided as instructed by the kidnappers, so she contacted some family members and raised the sum of N2 million.

“She explained to the hoodlums when they called a few days later that she was only able to raise N2 million and they asked her to bring the money, promising that they would release her son-in-law to her.

“The hoodlums told my mother on the phone to take the money to a location in Itori area of Ewekoro Local Government Area.

“We urged her not to take the money to the hoodlums, but she feared that Awoyinfa could be killed by the hoodlums if the matter was reported to the police.

“To ensure my mother’s safety, her brother, Uncle Mike Olurankinse who was visiting us at the time and my father, Wole Olowokande volunteered to accompany my mother to drop the ransom at the place requested by the hoodlums,” she said.

The story however changed when the trio got to the location as the kidnappers freed Awoyinfa and abducted his mother-in-law and her brother.

According to Adewunmi’s father, Olowokande, they were directed to the den of the hoodlums by a member of the gang who waited at the roadside.

Olowokande said: “My wife, her brother and I left for the location where the hoodlums asked us to drop the money. Their den was close to the Ogun State-owned Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic at Itori in Ewekoro Local Government.

“We met one of the kidnappers at the roadside and he directed us to the exact point we were to drop the ransom.

“There, we met eight kidnappers who immediately surrounded us. Some of them spoke Hausa while others spoke flawed Yoruba which gave them out as northerners. They counted the money to confirm that it was up to the N2 million.

“After confirming that the money was N2 million, they brought out Awoyinfa and asked him how much he was owing them, and he said N50 million. They asked him to identify us and he explained that we were his in-laws.

“They asked me to take Awoyinfa home while my wife and his brother were seized. They said that they would not release my wife and her brother until we bring the balance of N48 million to complete the N50 million ransom they earlier demanded for Awoyinfa to regain his freedom,” he added.

Olowokande explained that despite offering himself in place of his wife and her brother, the hoodlums refused to release the duo, saying he is too old.

He said: “I pleaded with them to take me instead because my wife had high blood pressure she was managing before she embarked on the journey. However, the hoodlums refused and said that I was too old.”

He said that he would have reported the matter to the police but he was warned by the hoodlums against such a move, which they threatened could lead to the killing of his wife and her brother held by the hoodlums.

“I would have reported the matter to the police but the hoodlums warned that something terrible would happen to my wife and her brother in their den if we invite the police into the matter. They said they have spies in the police force and military men were part of their syndicate.

“Besides, my wife feared that Awoyinfa might be killed by the kidnappers while he was still being held in their den, so she warned me not to get the police involved at all.”

He recalled that the hoodlums led them out of their den around 10 pm after they had spent several hours with them.

“They asked one of them to lead us to the highway around 10 pm. From there, we went to Awoyinfa’s filling station at Ibogun where his car was parked on the day he was abducted by the hoodlums.

“We got to my home in Lagos around midnight. We asked Awoyinfa if he truly owed the hoodlums as they claimed before releasing him to me, but he said he didn’t know them from anywhere,” he explained.

Awoyinfa was said to have spent several days in the home of his in-law while trying to sell his filling station to raise the balance of the ransom demanded by his abductors who had seized his in-laws in his place, but buyers were not forthcoming while the kidnappers continued to threaten him and his in-law on the phone.

Worried by the sudden turn of event and the plight of the woman and her brother held by the kidnappers, the family approached various sources for financial assistance and a sum of N5 million was raised.

Adewunmi said: “I spoke with the kidnappers and they assured me that nothing would happen to my mother and uncle in their den. The family then decided to raise money for the ransom through other sources since Awoyinfa could not get a buyer for his filling station in Ogun State.

“We were able to raise the sum of N5 million which we intended to urge the kidnappers to take as the only amount we could raise instead of the N48 million they requested. We got Awoyinfa’s mother involved and she accepted to take the money to the kidnappers on December 5, 2020.

“Unfortunately, we experienced delays at the bank in Ikeja, and by the time we were able to withdraw the money through the help of the bank manager, it was already past 5 pm. We also ran into a gridlock at Agege which lasted several hours.

“The kidnappers kept using my mother’s phone to speak with us till about 8 pm while we were still held in traffic. At a point, my mother advised that it was late already, so she suggested that Awoyinfa’s mother should bring the money the next day.

“Since that day, my mother’s phone became unreachable and there is no way we can contact her abductors.

“We later reported the matter to the police both in Lagos and Abuja, and the minions, in the course of their investigations, arrested Awoyinfa. But he was later released for what the police said was want of evidence to continue to detain him over the matter.

“The policemen urged all of us to work together so we can unravel the whereabouts of my mother and her brother. We haven’t seen Awoyinfa since he left our home while we continue to lick our wound.

“It is over one year now since my mother and uncle has been held by the kidnappers and we don’t know their whereabouts as we speak. As a family, we are greatly disturbed about this development and we want our mother and her brother back alive,” Adewunmi added.

Contacted, Awoyinfa, in a telephone conversation said he never abandoned his in-laws to their fate. He explained that he was in touch with them even as he claimed they usually abuse him whenever he called them on the phone.

He said: “I have never abandoned them (his in-laws). I didn’t abandon them even after they took me to the State Criminal Investigation Department of Ogun Police Command at Eleweran in Abeokuta where I was detained for days.

“They later took me to the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at the Force Headquarters in Abuja where I was detained and tortured for two months. I have been speaking with the family members, and each time I did, they called me all sorts of names and make derogative remarks about me on the phone.

“It will interest you to know that I spoke with one of their daughters (Kemi, who has a child with him) who resides in the United States of America (USA) about three weeks ago and I have also been in touch with the Force Headquarters in Abuja on the matter, all in a bid to unravel the whereabouts of the victims. So I have not abandoned the family.”

“The mastermind of the abduction could have come from any side. One thing I know is that what is secret to man is open before God, and by the time the police would unravel the whereabouts of the victims, it will dawn on everyone who the real culprits are,” Awoyinfa added. (The Nation)