Due to his family’s inability to pay the N200 million ransom requested by his captors, retired Customs officer Emmanuel Owolabi has not yet been liberated two weeks after being kidnapped close to his house in Ora, Osun State.
According to The PUNCH, gunmen raided Ora, a town on the Osun/Kwara State border, on Monday, December 15, and kidnapped Owolabi.
The victim’s wife, Titilayo Owolabi, said our correspondent that just before 7 p.m., her husband was apprehended in front of their house on Akisa Road.
“My spouse approached me at 6:30 p.m. this evening after I closed my store and requested me to leave for home. I was cooking when I arrived home and was going to serve my kids when I heard a gunshot. The gunshots [were] intermittent, but I assumed they were coming from hunters. I later heard my husband’s voice outside our fence,” she said.
She revealed how she uncovered the attack: “I didn’t know he was being held by the bandits. I stepped outside to see what was going on. One of the gunmen entered our compound by jumping over the fence. The boys I saw are young. They were speaking Hausa, so I got down on my knees and spoke to him in Hausa. He began pounding me instead of answering.
“He requested money from me. They were shooting shots during all of that. The next thing I heard was the sound of a motorcycle hauling my spouse headed into the bush. The two gunmen in our complex escaped by leaping over the fence and into the forest. My spouse is a former Customs official. People ought to assist us in safely returning him home.
A village head, Dennis, who was returning from his farm, was also shot dead by the attackers.
The kidnappers allegedly sought N200 million for Owolabi’s release two days after the kidnapping. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a family member said: “They called us using Owolabi’s phone number. We are extremely afraid but we are hoping that he will come out alive.”
Owolabi has been permitted to communicate with some family members, but he is still in the abductors’ hands despite ongoing discussions. “We are still negotiating with them,” the person continued. They are pressing on N200m ransom, but we can’t afford it. We are pleading with them. They are attempting to contact us.
“He is still alive. He was allowed to speak with select members of the family. They thought the sum we offered was insufficient. We’re hoping for a speedy release for him. He remains with the kidnappers.
Abiodun Ojelabi, the Osun Police Command’s Police/Public Relations Officer, stated that search and rescue efforts are still ongoing but bemoaned the family’s lack of cooperation.
The family failed to notify us when the kidnappers called, which is really regrettable. Only an outsider told us about it. They failed to provide us with the information we need. They are not revealing information that could be really beneficial.
“The anti-kidnapping squad has been on top of the situation, even though we are working with what little we have,” Ojelabi stated.
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