The mother of one of the freed prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members has said she paid N6 m to secure her son’s freedom, revealing that the kidnappers instructed the family to convert the ransom to dollars upon getting to Imo State.
Recall that the prospective corps members were abducted on October 1 after gunmen attacked two 18-seater buses travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway.
The woman who disclosed this in an interview with News Central Television on Wednesday, said the abductors initially placed a demand of N50m on each victim adding that when the families pleaded for a reduction, the kidnappers refused and continued to threaten them.
“Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that no, it was for each person. Later, we started begging them to take N500,000. But they said no and started scaring us,” she said.
She explained that three days ago, the kidnappers called again and demanded N15 million. The family told them they could only raise N5.5 million, but the abductors insisted on N6 million, which was eventually paid.
The mother said the kidnappers contacted all the parents and directed each family to send three representatives to Ibadan for the ransom negotiation. Her husband and her elder son were among those who went.
She disclosed that on getting to the meeting point, they were instructed to transfer the money into an account and to change it to dollars once they arrived in Imo State.
She noted that her elder son was part of the team that delivered the ransom, adding that it was he who called on Wednesday evening to inform the family that the money had been handed over and that her son had been released.
“It is not rumours. They have all been released and sent to us. His brother is among the people who went to meet with the abductors three days ago. They left with the ransom. It was the brother who called us this evening to say that they had handed the ransom to the kidnappers and that they had released our son. We also spoke to the boy,” she said.
She added that the experience left her traumatised, as she could neither eat properly nor sleep throughout the period her son was in captivity, but said she felt relieved after news of his release.
