NYSC Member Rofiat Lawal Abducted on Benin-Ore Expressway Reveals Harrowing Details of Captivity
A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Rofiat Lawal, who was kidnapped last Tuesday along the Benin-Ore Expressway, has opened up about her terrifying experience. She reported that her captors threatened to force her into marriage and transport her to Sokoto if her family failed to pay a ransom.
According to reports, Rofiat was en route to her primary assignment in Oyo State while traveling from Edo State when the abduction occurred. Initially, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of N20 million, which was later negotiated down to N5 million.
A friend of Rofiat, Agbakwara, alerted the public about her abduction on social media. Following intense negotiations, Rofiat was eventually released after her family paid a ransom of N1.1 million to an account linked to another kidnapped victim’s family.
In an exclusive interview, Rofiat recounted how the armed kidnappers ambushed the vehicle she was traveling in near the Ore area. Out of the ten passengers, six were taken hostage and led deep into the forest along the expressway.
The abductors confiscated all valuables, including money and mobile phones, from the victims. Rofiat described that one of the kidnappers even put on her NYSC uniform. She recalled, “They stopped our vehicle as I was sitting in the front. I heard gunshots, and when I looked up, there were three armed men in front and three at the back. The driver attempted to escape, but they ordered us to lie down and took six of us away.”
She explained that the captives were made to trek for seven hours on their first day, only to be allowed to rest afterward. “They took us into the bush, searched us, and collected our valuables. While some victims, mainly market women, lost amounts ranging from N600,000 to N1.2 million, I had only N15,000, which they took.”
During their ordeal, the group was subjected to various hardships, with beatings inflicted upon older victims. Rofiat, being the youngest among those abducted, experienced slightly better treatment but was still subjected to harassment. She revealed, “One of the kidnappers threatened to marry me and take me to Sokoto if my family didn’t pay the ransom. Although I was less harassed compared to others, the focus of the abductors was primarily on obtaining money.”
On the subject of food during their four-day captivity, Rofiat said that the kidnappers had prepared garri, which they offered occasionally. “They carried a cooler filled with garri with them,” she explained, suggesting that such operations may not have been their first.
Following her release, Rofiat has called on the NYSC authorities to grant her some time for recovery, citing the traumatic aftermath of her experience. “The NYSC has reached out, and both the State Coordinator and my Local Government Inspector have checked on me. My request is for a few days of rest and medical attention due to the trauma I enduring during those four days,” she stated.
Despite the harrowing experience, Rofiat expressed no regrets about participating in the NYSC program. “What will happen will happen. The other victims were not NYSC members,” she concluded, expressing gratitude towards her family for their efforts in securing her release.
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