How I was kidnapped after leaving Aso Rock – Journalist narrates experience

One of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reporters who was sent to cover the Presidential Villa in Abuja has said that shooters took him away.

The reporter got on the wrong car at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja while on his way home from work.

The scared Reporter, who is still getting over what happened and is now usually afraid of everyone around her, tells his story below:

I had to do some work at the Presidential Villa on that day. I turned in my story and then chose to go home after the task. I asked one of the directors at the Villa to take the cameraman and me to the Federal Secretariat, where we could get on a commercial bus.

I live in the suburbs and had to get to the Finance junction to catch a car that would take me to the Dantata bridge and then back to my house. It was 4:45 p.m. I was careful not to get on the wrong bus because there were so many stories about robbers and “one chance” operators in Abuja.

I didn’t get into the first car that stopped because it was brand new and the owner couldn’t be that poor to start using it as a taxi. It didn’t make sense to me. I got on the second one that came because the driver looked like a regular government worker who had to pick up people to make extra money because of the economy.

The person next to him dressed well, seemed calm, and wore an expensive perfume, making him look like a banker who had just gotten off work.

I told them I was taking the Lugbe road to get to Dantata bridge. In the back, there was only one person. Armed forces green shirt with a black vest on top of it. He was just having fun with his phone. We went from the Finance junction to the Bolingo junction, which is close to NAN’s headquarters. There were a lot of people waiting for cars to go to Lugbe at that junction.

Someone peeped and said she was going to Lugbe. The driver told her to pay N400, but she only had N200 to give. But while they were talking, the man sitting next to me yelled at the driver and said he would leave if the car didn’t move. The man told her to shut the door. The driver got going quickly and went fast.

At this point, I felt terrible. Because I was scared, I told them I needed to go down. I said I had forgotten something and needed to go back and get it. That’s when they took action. The person in the front seat quickly moved his seat and pushed it down to stop me from trying to get out. At the same time, the man next to me pulled out his gun, put it to my forehead, and told me to close my eyes. He pulled me down into his lap and told them they would kill me if I didn’t help them. They tied me up and told me they would waste me if I didn’t behave. I told them where I live when they asked. They told me not to lie to them.

I just started to pray inside me at that moment. My whole body was shaking. It all made sense to me now. They heard my pleas and stopped hurting me. They went through my bag and stole everything in it. I gave them N375,000 to help them buy a toy, but they took it. They stole my watch and my GTB ATM card.

They also stole my laptop, phones, $200, headphones, a power bank, the Villa tag, my NAN ID card, and some other cash and belongings. They told me that they had been following me from the Villa and knew I was from that mission. They asked me who I was and I told them I was a reporter from NAN sent to cover the Villa. They told me to get my family to bring N13 million, but I should only bring N5 million.

I didn’t understand. Really scared. I told them I was just a bad writer who didn’t have any money or connections. They looked through my phones and told me to call people I knew to bring money. I told them that the only reason I go to see those people is to pray for them.

They asked me if I was ready to become a Christian. I told them I wouldn’t. They said it even with a gun? Yes, I said. They asked me what stupid people knew about security that they could hold a seminar on it. They told me they weren’t “one-chance” businesses. They said they were troops. The two in front of me had been fired, but the one next to me was still working as a soldier and was in Abuja at the time.

Those who were fired said they were thrown out in Sokoto and came to Abuja to find the Army General who fired them, but they did not find him at his home. In that moment, the reporter in me wanted to know why they were fired, but I couldn’t ask them that “crazy” question. People who spoke said that the situation in the country made them turn to crime and that Nigeria had turned them into thieves.

They tied my legs together and told me they would take me to Sokoto. They were talking about whether to throw me out of the moving car. They said they chose me because they thought I had cash. They also said they wouldn’t have picked me if they knew I didn’t have anything. I told them that where I work, there’s no money. There was an Indian ring they could put on me to make me forget everything. As I begged them not to hurt me, I kept praying inside.

They got the PIN for the GTB ATM card and took out all the money. They took money that night and again in the morning of the next day because I was too upset to call GTB and block the account.

They took N505,000 out of the account all together. I was just getting sweaty. And took a breath. I just said a prayer. Someone told them to waste me, and someone else said I should be free to go. They kept going around and around. In my heart, I knew that by God’s help, they would not kill me.

After taking the money from the ATM, they told me they wouldn’t kill me because I believe in God and have never betrayed or denied Him, even when they threatened to shoot me, and because I pray for other people.

They kept going and dropped me off somewhere in the end. It must have been after 8:50 p.m. I’m still not sure what part of Abuja that is. When I got out of the car, the driver, who looked like their leader, called me and gave me my Villa tag. The Tech phone too. The office phone wouldn’t work when I tried to call my boss on it. It looks like they did something bad to it. It looked like it had been turned off.

I could make calls after I got someone to restart it. I’m still really scared. I’m still very scared of everything and everyone. I’m glad they didn’t kill me, though. It’s hard for me to trust anything or anyone around me. I sometimes want to drag my shoes to nowhere in particular. It was a very bad experience. I try not to think about the painful images, but they keep coming back. I had a bad time through it. I’m glad they didn’t kill me, though.