Mr. Adebayo Adewole, who was abducted on Tuesday and released on Wednesday, has disclosed that his abductors forced him to trek for 12 hours in the bush.

Adebayo is the son of Professor Isaac Adewole, former minister of Health. Adebayo, who claimed that no ransom was paid before he was released, spoke with journalists at the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan.

Adebayo was released on Wednesday, after his abduction at Iroko in the Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo.

He explained that after the men abducted him, they collected some money from his farm office, and then allowed to go the following day.

Adebayo said: “The incident happened around 5.30p.m. I was just about to get out of the farm when a couple of gunmen, about six of them appeared. The driver panicked and I jumped out of the car. I ran and they chased me until they caught up with me. I eventually took them to the farm office. I gave them all the money we had in the office. Between 6.30 and 7p.m., we patrolled until 8a.m. the following day.

“When they realised they couldn’t get any more money from me, they allowed me to go; the time was 7:36p.m. I found my way and went into a village, where I was directed to the expressway. I met a nice cyclist, who took me back to Iroko village. There, somebody gave me a phone, which I used to call my father to come and pick me.”

Asked how his captors treated him, Adebayo said: “I was beaten a couple of times. Luckily, one of them was really a good person. Every time it happened, he would just tell them to leave me.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Shina Olukolu, said: “The kidnappers were not able to pin him to being this or that person. They believed he was either the son of a senior police officer or a senior military officer. They concluded that was why senior police officers and senior army officers were patrolling the area, searching for him and looking everywhere. They couldn’t really do what they intended doing. They felt the heightened rescue operation was too much and they felt the pressure. They had to let him go because it would be a ‘bad market’ for them.”

•Credit (excluding headline): New Telegraph.

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