A kidnapping survivor, Agnes Dandison-Jaja, has narrated her ordeal in the hands of daredevil kidnappers that abducted her alongside her three children while travelling from Lagos to Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
Dandison-Jaja recalled that on December 27, 2022, she left Lagos for Port Harcourt, Rivers State with the hope of spending time with her family.
She said she paid N30,000 for two seats for herself and her three children on a board with the inscription: Akwa Ibom Transport Company.
She said that the vehicle dropped off some passengers in Warri, Delta State after which the driver started to drive sluggishly.
“At Ughelli, Delta State, we met a long queue of vehicles due to bad road. The traffic was hectic and the driver stopped. But there was an area of the road that vehicles were managing to pass through despite the slippery nature. At this point, a man who joined us in Warri disembarked from the bus and trekked forward.
“The man said there might be robbery gangs around that area as it was already getting past 6pm. We (the passengers) told our driver that we would come down from the bus and that he should manage the slippery part of the road that the other vehicles were passing. After we passed through the bad spot, we all boarded the bus again. The driver started making a call when we got close to Mbiama, telling the person on the other end that he would soon get there. He had some parcels to deliver, and I suspect the call was from one of the owners of the parcel,” she told The Punch.
Dandison-Jaja said that the driver treaded a bush path some minutes after the bus passed Mbiama and while she was sleeping.
“I asked the driver where we were. He told me not to worry that we would soon get to Port Harcourt, and I told him that I was in the bus with my kids. Two minutes after this discussion, we passed a police checkpoint after which we ran into our abductors, who also mounted a checkpoint like the police,” she stated.
Acccording to her, a Sienna bus was the actual target of the kidnappers “but the driver was able to escape by speeding off in reverse despite the gunshots from the gunmen”.
“Our driver could not do the same but drove straight to the point where the kidnappers were and stopped. Initially I thought they were policemen because they wore black clothes.
“They continued shooting in the air, I looked back and I could still see the police checkpoint we just passed. While the Sienna escaped, our driver put off the engine.
“They surrounded our bus and started hitting the vehicle with the butt of their guns. At that moment, I knew we were in deep trouble. I didn’t believe I would see this year,” she said.
“We were dragged out of the bus; 11 of us, but I later discovered that a young man had escaped, while a pregnant woman was also allowed to go when she fell down. I told them to allow me to carry my kids. Two had already woken up, while the last one, a girl was still sleeping, and I had to strap her on my back.
“We were told to move into the bush. I tried to see what was happening to the driver and I saw him sitting on the road with his head bent down. They threatened to shoot if we did not obey their instructions or move fast. They hit us with sticks like the ones herders use, but I am not sure where they came from.
“When we got into the middle of the bush, they slapped us, told us to bend our heads and dared us to look at their faces. They then searched us for valuables. They forcefully removed beads, necklaces and rings from the bodies of those they abducted, saying they were charms”
On whether the policemen at the checkpoint tried to rescue them, Dandison-Jaja said, “We actually heard police siren at a point. The police also shot in the air, and I felt that we were going to be rescued.
“But the kidnappers mocked the police, saying they could not come while they were operating and could only show up after they had gone into the bush with us. The police left after then.”
On how her child nearly got killed, she said, “We started walking farther into the bush, but before then, my second child was now crying, and their leader ordered one of them to shoot him.
“So, I told them to kill me instead (sobbing) and begged them to put my children by the roadside so that they could be rescued.
“So, I carried him while still backing his younger sister. One woman, who was also abducted, took pity on me and carried one of them because I was struggling to walk.”
She said that when the kidnappers took them to their camp, “they blindfolded us and started calling people that they had body parts to sell.
“They used their own phones to make the calls and they put the phone on speaker. They started asking everyone what they do for a living. When they got to my turn, I told them that I do PoS business. They asked how much I had in the account, and I told them I borrow money to do the business.
“They now asked how much I had in the Sterling Bank account. I told them I did not know the exact figure and they checked the balance with my PoS machine with them. After we told them what we do, they now started calling our family members to ask for ransom. They also collected N12,000 from my Ecobank account because the app was on my phone.”
On how she regained her freedom, Dandison-Jaja said, “On the third day, which is on the 29th, my sister called the number they called her with. She begged them to spare us and that she could only raise N20,000. I then told them to check my contact so that I could call my pastor because there is no way anyone would come up with the money. They asked which church I attended. I told them the Redeemed Christian Church of God. They declined the request. They said a lady who they kidnapped that attended Deeper Life had requested that they call her pastor, who started praying for them and they began to feel a burning sensation in their bodies, which led them to dump the girl by the roadside.
“They offered to release my children, kill me and sell my body parts but I begged them. After a while, the leader of the gang came to me and said he liked me because of my honesty. He said they had also not beaten me but if I remove my blindfold and see the way they had beaten others, I would pity them. He then said they had decided to let me go. Immediately, I said ‘thank you sir, God bless you sir’. He said I was also very respectful. They told us that they were the ones who kidnapped Akas Baba of Wazobia FM in Port Harcourt and that he was very cooperative, loyal and respectful. That was why they did not kill him.”
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