January 17, 2023 was like any other day for 47-year-old horticulturist Henry Edobor Okunrobo as he had no premonition of the fate that would befall him. If he knew that as he woke up that fateful day he would be abducted on the road, offered as sacrifice to the gods but rejected and would end up in a slave camp, he would not have ventured out of his house in Obadore community, in Igando area of Lagos. His resistance to being abducted infuriated his abductors who gave him deadly punches to his mouth that removed three of his front teeth. As fate would have it, the missing teeth were his saving grace after he was offered to the gods as sacrifice somewhere in Ogun state. He was taken to two ritualists but was considered unfit for sacrifice. He was said not to be incomplete because of the missing teeth.

His abductors then resolved to sell him into slavery and make some money instead of wasting him. He was sold to a farmer who had a large farm with several other slaves. Back home, despite weeks of frantic search for him by friends and family members, his family reported to Igando Police station and filed papers for a missing person. The search spread to hospitals and other police stations all to no avail. At some point, they gave up and considered him dead. Some of his friends and relations even organised a wake keep in his honour believing he was dead. But after one year and nine months, he suddenly appeared like a ghost. He narrated his story to Saturday Vanguard.

Genesis of my travails

?My name is Henry Edobor Okunrobo but I?m popularly known as Epa 1 of Obadore in Obadore community, Igando area of Lagos. I?m an horticulturist and at the same time a passionate advocate for a better Nigeria. During the electioneering campaigns that preceded the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, I was a strong advocate of the Obidient movement and my advocacy attracted a lot of people with similar political beliefs. People urged me on and some even supported me financially because they loved what I was doing.

I never met the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi in person but I bought his political ideology and campaigned for him to be the President of Nigeria. I singlehandedly campaigned for the Labour party and wanted to be heard, at least in my area. I became very popular as I commanded many followers.

As I intensified my campaign and my message grew louder, followers of other political parties became more and more uncomfortable. They were irritated by the consistency and intensity of my message. They hated me for what I was doing

How I was abducted

?On that fateful night of January 17th2023, after one of my campaign routines, at about 9:30 pm, I went out to look for food. Masked men in a black SUV jeep drove past me at an unusually slow speed. I noticed that they were intentional and it aroused my suspicion. I attempted to move faster but before I could make any attempt to raise an alarm, the car reversed towards me and stopped. Three masked men alighted from the vehicle and told me, ?enter the car now or you die here.? The moment they noticed I was about to raise an alarm, they landed two heavy punches on my mouth. I lost three teeth in the process and I was then bundled into the car.

raising a substantial amount to take me home, I left the town for Lagos.

Back home

?The reunion with my friends was nothing short of a miracle. Although I was tired, I was in high spirits because I was alive. The whole community was in shock seeing a man long forgotten. It was as if they were seeing a ghost. They rushed to me and welcomed me back, trying to know what really happened. They also informed me that they had done posters and fliers of my obituary after the police tried searching for me to no avail?.

Mr Henry?s captivity may have drained him emotionally, but he was determined to pick the pieces of life together even as he expressed frustration as to where to begin from.

He arrived home to learn that his wife and children had relocated to Benin believing he was dead. He also came back to see his flowers destroyed and had no means of livelihood.

Though the trauma of the past 20 months may remain with him for the rest of his life, Mr Henry Edobor Okunrobo emerged as a symbol of endurance and courage as he continued his advocacy for human rights, with his voice now even more powerful than ever. (Saturday Vanguard)