Benin-Ore Expressway kidnappers freed my father after N3m ransom –Son

Sunday Special had reported that Kareem’s son, Sefiu, cried out over the abduction of his father and some yet-to-be-identified number of persons in the Ofosu area of the Benin-Ore Expressway.

Safiu told Sunday Special how the bandits, who abducted the victims on Wednesday afternoon, were “already demanding money” to the tune of N20m.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, he said his dad and his friends were travelling to Warri, Delta State, in a vehicle after attending a party in Osogbo, Osun State.

He said the news of the abduction got to the family after the kidnappers contacted them through one of the phones taken from the travellers.

Safiu had then taken the issue to social media and called on the military and the police to rescue his father, saying, “I don’t want to lose my dad.”

In a chat with our correspondent on Sunday, Sefiu confirmed his father had been released but not until the payment of N3m ransom.

“They have released him after the payment (of) N3m,” Safiu told PUNCH Metro.

When asked if the police were involved in the rescue mission of his dad, he said he did not have full details yet.

“I have (not) got the details yet. My dad is relaxing now,” he simply said.

When contacted for a reaction to the development on Sunday, the Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed to our correspondent that the kidnapped victims had been released.

“I got in touch with the DPO and I was told they have all been released,” Odunlami said.

When asked if a ransom was paid, the PPRO said, “I was not told that.”

PUNCH Metro reports that six sisters kidnapped in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory about two weeks ago, also regained their freedom on Saturday night.

The FCT Police Command on Sunday revealed the details of how the Al-Kadriyar sisters and other abducted victims were rescued from the bandits’ den in Kajuru forest in Kaduna State by a joint team of policemen and soldiers.

About 23 persons were abducted on January 2, 2024, in the Zuma 1 area of Kawu, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja.

The police on Sunday confirmed that all the victims, including the five sisters whose abduction had raised nationwide concerns, were rescued at about 11 pm last week Saturday, and had since been reunited with their families.