A National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Rofiat Lawal has recounted her traumatic experience after being abducted by gunmen along the Benin-Ore Expressway last Tuesday.
Rofiat, who was on her way to her place of primary assignment in Oyo State from Edo State, narrated how she and five others were kidnapped at gunpoint from a commercial vehicle.
The abduction, which occurred near the Ore area of the expressway, saw the gunmen stop the vehicle with gunfire, forcing the passengers to lie down before selecting six victims, including Rofiat.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that they were then led into a nearby bush where their valuables, including cash and mobile phones, were forcefully taken.
Speaking exclusively to The Punch, Rofiat disclosed that during the four days of captivity, the kidnappers subjected their victims to grueling conditions.
She said “We trekked from 3 pm to 10 pm on the first day alone,” she recounted. “During the day, they would make us sit in the forest, and at night, we were forced to walk again. It was exhausting.”
One particularly disturbing aspect of her abduction was the threat of forced marriage.
“One of them threatened to marry me and take me to Sokoto if my family didn’t pay ransom,” Rofiat revealed.
“It was terrifying, but compared to the others, I was spared physical abuse.”
She added that one of the abductors, who identified as Fulani, took her NYSC uniform and wore it.
It was reported that they had Initially demanded a ransom of N20 million, but, eventually settled for N5 million after negotiations, and Rofiat’s family managed to raise N1.1 million, which was paid into an account provided by the kidnappers and got her released from the hook .
Despite the harrowing experience, Rofiat expressed gratitude to her family for raising the ransom and emphasized the need for the NYSC authorities to provide her with adequate rest and medical attention.
“The NYSC State Coordinator and my Local Government Inspector have reached out to me,” she said.
“I urge them to allow me some time to recover from this traumatic event.”
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