A former deputy governor of Nasarawa state Prof Onje Gye-Wado, who was abducted on Thursday night, has been released after a ransom of N4 million.
Gye-Wado was on Thursday, April 6, 2023, kidnapped from his country home in Rinza, near Wamba, headquarters of Wamba local government area of the state.
His kidnappers had demanded a ransom of N70 million, but the family negotiated from N2 million and later N3.5 million, eventually paying N4 million before he was released.
According to Daily Trust, a family source said; “The kidnappers collected the ransom near Mada Hills Secondary School in Akwanga, with 200 naira recharge card, after which he was freed from their den close to Angwan chiyawa, close to those hills between Akwanga and Nasarawa Eggon.”
It was gathered that Prof Gye-Wado was taken back to the Palace of the paramount ruler of Wamba, Oriye Rindre, Justice Lawal Musa Nagogo, upon his release.
A former NUJ chairman and also a former commissioner of information in the state, Mr. Dogo Shamma, confirmed the release of Prof Gye-Wado, via a text message.
“To God be the Glory Prof. Onje, has finally been released from the hands of kidnappers just now.”
In a related development, the abductors of two wives of the Ogboni Aborigines, Oba Adetoyese Olakisan, demanded N2m ransom as well as energy drinks and cigarettes to release the remaining victim in their den.
But the victim was rescued in the early hours of Sunday by local security operatives after a gun battle that lasted for several minutes.
The family member of the victim, who is the head of a cultural security group, Kiriji Heritage Defenders, Dr. Ademola Ekundayo, confirmed to The Nation the victim has been rescued.
The abductors kidnapped two wives of the Ogboni head at their residence in Oke-Imesi in Obokun Local Government Area before one of them escaped last week.
Ekundayo said: “We have secured the release of Olori Rashidat Olatipe. We used about N25 million as bait but we could not arrest them. Their base is around Ikoro-Ekiti, the place is after Oke-Imesi along Ikoro road very close to Osun bridge, the place is close to Aba Paanu.
“We invaded the forest where they are, we were able to rescue her without paying them a dime. We just got home this morning, we have taken her to hospital because she is severely injured.
“Government must engage local security who are familiar with our terrain because kidnappers are scattered in our bushes. There are several kidnapping cases just that ours is most prominent.
“We carried the ransom that we used as bait to them but when they sighted us, they suspected our mission, that was how they started to shoot at us but we overpowered them.
“They asked us to buy five cartons of fearless drinks(energy drink), one roll of cigarettes, one carton of milk, recharge cards, and malt among others.”
The leader of the local security men, Ajayi Adebayo said: “I went into the forest with my team. We have been there since three days ago but we had a breakthrough in the early hours of today. We were shot at repeatedly before we overpowered them.”
