Enyimba FC player, Emmanuel James has explained how he escaped being kidnapped by the gunmen that whisked away his teammate, Dayo Ojo and Abia Comets’ player, Benjamin Iluyomade on Sunday.
The three friends were en-route Akure in Ondo State from Aba, Abia State when unknown gunmen attacked them at Ipele, Owo LGA of Ondo State.
The former Plateau United player said he spent one hour in the bush after escaping from the kidnappers, describing the day as the worst in his life.
James said, “Sunday was the worst day in my life; I’ve never experienced that kind of day before. On our way from Aba, the Benin-Owo Expressway was bad, so, we had to slow down. Immediately we got to a pothole, we saw some gunmen coming out of the bush.
“Immediately we saw them, my colleague (Ojo), who was driving tried to reverse the car but they also blocked us from the back. It was during that process that I opened the door and I ran into the bush, I was in that bush for close to 40 minutes or about one hour before I managed to come out.
“As I was running in the bush, they ran after me but I didn’t stop, there were trees all around that injured me but I kept running, right now, I have marks all over my body.
“I then met some policemen and people from the village , who crowded the scene; they came when they heard the gunshots. I noticed that two of my friends Dayo and Benjamin had been kidnapped; they also took three other people, who were coming back from a burial ceremony, in another vehicle.
“When I came out from the bush, everything was intact in the car, they only took my phone and Dayo’s phone, so, I drove the car to the police station and reported and then wrote a statement about the incident. They allowed me to go and have been calling me for information.”
Ojo and Iluyomade were released on Wednesday after an unspecified amount of money was paid as ransom.
James said he was able to recover his phone when his friends were released.
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