Chief Imam of Uso Muslim community in the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State, Alhaji Ibrahim Oyinlade, who was kidnapped by gunmen while working on his farm, tells PETER DADA about his ordeal in the hands of his abductors and how he regained his freedom
The whole town was shocked when the people heard about your abduction. How did it happen?
We thank God Almighty. I went to the farm on Saturday morning (June 17, 2023) to fetch some pineapples and as I was about to pack the pineapples into the car, I suddenly saw these two men coming towards me with a gun. They asked me to raise my hands up and I did. Then they asked if I came alone and I told them I was there alone. So, from there, they pushed me back into the farm. That was when I discovered that they slept over in the farm and had been watching me. It was when we went to the farm that I saw their luggage. From the farm, they took me into the bush.
What were those things you saw with them in the bush?
It was serious; it is only the person that goes there and experiences those things that will be able to talk about it very well. If you are not there, you can’t say what really happened. It is not easy at all; it is only God that can protect us.
How were you treated by the hoodlums in their den?
It was very bad. They tied my hands backward, they also tied my legs. The torture was too much as they flogged the hell out of me. They know almost everything about me. In fact, they know my children and the number of cars that I have. They know where my children are, but I thank God for sparing my life. It has not been easy. I just know that there is no one in life that doesn’t have tribulation. If not that God allowed them, they wouldn’t have had the chance to do all that they did. I believe it was a tribulation from God and God made me to overcome it. I give God all the glory.
For how long were you kept with them before you were eventually released?
They abducted me around 11am on that fateful day and they released me around 6:30pm on Sunday evening but it was past 8pm before I got home.
What did they give you to eat or did they starve you?
I didn’t eat anything. There was no opportunity to eat food. It was later I told them that I was dying because I was tired. So, they asked what was wrong with me and I told them that I was hungry. They blindfolded my eyes and my mouth was sealed with a piece of cloth all through so that I won’t be able to see them and talk to them. Whenever they opened my eyes and I looked at their faces, they would beat and torture me. I must not argue with them; if they asked me anything and I said otherwise, it would turn out to be another round of torture because they already knew virtually everything about me.
What lesson has this experience taught you?
I have learnt that one has to be close to God, because if not for prayer and God, they would have killed me there. They made me realise that they were sent by someone because one of them told me that the person that sent them gave them an order that if I argued with them, they should kill me and burn the car that I drove to the farm. When we got to the place where we had our first stopover, their boss came out to meet us there. He asked me some questions which I answered and he told them that I was not honest with my answers and instructed that his gang members should torture me very well. Again, the kidnappers pounced on me and continued with the torture. They used a bamboo stick to flog me.
With your experience with the kidnappers, what will you say about the issue of insecurity in Ondo State and in Nigeria in general?
Well, our Governor, Arakurin (Rotimi) Akeredolu has tried his best. He established the Amotekun Corps, the Amotekun people would have been doing more than what they are doing now but the operatives are not many. However, in my case, the bandits told me that if I should ever call any Amotekun officer, or if they should see any Amotekun officer, they would kill me.
So, what was the experience like in the bush?
It was an experience that no one should pray for. It is not even good for an enemy to experience what I went through in the hands of those kidnappers. The experience was horrific. But I have to thank my family members and friends that called. I thank the media people, the Kabiyesi and all the chiefs of Uso kingdom. God will not let us experience any form of kidnapping.
