A woman identified as Mistura Olasinde and her two daughters, Hauwa and Fatima, residents of Starwood Estate in Galadimawa, were reportedly kidnapped On Friday, September 8, 2023, in Abuja.
Surajudeen Olasinde, who is employed at the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, and happens to be Mistura’s husband, shared with newsmen that the occurrence happened at Kabusa Garden Estate while his wife and children were driving their Toyota Highlander from Garki to their residence in Starwood Estate, situated between Galadimawa and Lokogoma areas of Abuja.
‘Their abduction happened around 7 pm last Friday on their way from Garki. Immediately they reached Kabusa Garden Estate at the spot where the road was terribly bad, the kidnappers came out from the nearby bush and attacked them. They started shooting to scare people away before they marched them into the bush,’ Olasinde said.
He also mentioned that residents swiftly called the attention of Galadimawa Divisional Police Officer, Jerry Cole, who immediately ushered a team of policemen who partnered with vigilante operatives, to search the bushes. The rescue effort was, however, futile.
Mr. Olasinde, who hails from Offa in Kwara State, said he was not in the state when the incident happened.
‘I was not in Abuja when it happened because I have been transferred to Kwara State. But I was told that the police and the vigilantes searched the bush all through till 3 a.m. on Saturday without success. We also contacted officers of the Department of State Services. They tracked the kidnappers’ movement and the search got to a forest in Kuje,’ he said.
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Mr. Olasinde, who made his way to Abuja on Saturday, recounted that his family’s abductors reached out to his brother-in-law, asking for a ₦100 million ransom.
‘They asked for ₦100 million. Later, they brought it down to ₦50million, then to ₦10million. But at the end of the day, they asked us how much we had with us.’
‘The kidnappers even told us that if they killed my wife and my two daughters, they could sell their body parts above whatever amount we claimed to have. We resorted to begging, pleading with them not to harm or kill my family,’ he narrated.
In addition, he mentioned that upon communicating their financial constraints to the kidnappers, the abductors questioned them about the Toyota Highlander that had been involved in the attack. He explained that it had been part of the assets sold to raise the intended ransom.
In addition, Olasinde shared that they managed to gather an exact amount of N2.840 million and noted that the kidnappers had instructed them to deliver the ransom on Saturday night.
‘They directed us to bring the money around 8 pm on Saturday. They told us to go to Kabusa Village and pick any Okada rider (commercial motorcyclist) to a place where we did not know.’
‘My brother-in-law and I climbed the same bike to deliver the ransom. When we got to the thick forest where they were, they came out, collected the ransom. We gave them N2million and N840,000.’
‘It took about 40 minutes before my wife and daughters got to the point where we waited for them. So we begged the Okada rider to take my wife and daughters home, and to come back and pick us too,’ Olasinde revealed.
In a plea to President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, for assistance, he noted that his wife and daughters, aside from their physical injuries, are grappling with psychological trauma and have been taken to a hospital for medical attention.