A master’s student in the United States and an indigene of Orlu Local Government Area, Imo State, Chimee Adioha has revealed how armed men who spoke Igbo language kidnapped his father and released the victim after getting a “huge ransom”.
Adioha made the revelation in an interview with Sunday Punch.
He disclosed that the gunmen kidnapped his father, who is a retired teacher, in his hometown of Orlu, where he had lived most of his life as a child.
On how it happened, Adioha said, “It was on July 20, 2022. The gunmen came to our house, looked for my father and found him.
“Actually, they said it was the second or third time they were looking for him and never found him until that day. They had said if they didn’t see him the third time, they would take my mother instead. But they saw my father, blindfolded him, then they wanted to drive him away in his Toyota, but suddenly, the car did not start, so they held him and put him into their own jeep and drove away.
“My father said the drive lasted for about 30 minutes. That was his rough calculation. I don’t know how someone would be blindfolded, in a place that has had records of insecurity, driving for all that long and there were no checkpoints, no police, nothing; just free driving and getting to their destination so safely.”
He said he learnt about the kidnap from a cousin who called him after getting thr information on the extended family’s WhatsApp group.
“I had not seen any WhatsApp messages and I was both confused and frustrated at that moment. I opened WhatsApp and then saw the messages and then it dawned on me that it was real.
“This was happening so close, although I was too far away from home. I mean, I had always heard about kidnapping, but I hadn’t really had it so close, and then this was happening in my hometown, a place that was supposed to be so peaceful. It’s so heartbreaking how Orlu has been in the news for insecurity since 2021.
“I was trembling and I had to leave my door open for days to be sure I was not the only one in my apartment. My housemate was very helpful. I had panic attacks and my anxiety disorder rose,” he said.
He said he was surprised that his father was targeted because, as a retired teacher, he was not wealthy.
“My father studied Educational Psychology in Italy in the 70s and worked as a teacher and a principal for many years in Anambra and Imo states before he voluntarily retired. We have a house, and a car, just like a human being should.
“These are not supposed to define wealth. They are essential human necessities, if you ask me. My father is a Catholic Knight of St. Mulumba, kept a lot of psychological books on his shelf, someone who talked less and spread love, had tea each morning of his life, drink decaffeinated coffee and loves rice,” he said.
Adioha added, “But from what we see now, kidnapping in Nigeria is about if they (kidnappers) feel you have people that can raise ransom money; if they feel you have children in America or in the UK, who are students, who are probably on scholarships and do not have up to a $100 in their bank accounts, you are simply a target.
“They do not really care. You don’t have to do extra. You don’t even have to own a car or a house.
“The eligibility criterion is just to be a human being who is breathing. You could be going to the shop down your street to buy bread and egg and you could get kidnapped; you could be in a bus traveling from Orlu to Owerri or Onitsha to Enugu and get kidnapped. Just be breathing, then you are a target.”
Adioha disclosed that the abductors reached out to the family to demand ransom on the second day.
According to him, the abductor who reached out to the family “spoke too fast, with a different Igbo dialect, with weak English, with a commanding tone, both commanding and kind”.
“Their request was money. They wanted money. A lot of money that would buy several pieces of land in Owerri and maybe there will still be some change left, depending on the location of the land. They just wanted money.
“I remember my father’s major voice note. He said, ‘You must have heard that these people are holding me; please tell your mum, tell everyone, find money and bring it to these people, they are good people, they have assured me that all they want is money, my health condition was good yesterday, but I can’t explain it now, and I don’t know what it will be by tomorrow.’
“His voice was too slow and too trembling. If we had all that money, we would send it that second. But no, that kind of money was not in my mother’s bank account, but it came on the sixth day because they had given us seven days to pay the ransom.”