MY Ordeal In The Hand Of Kidnappers- Olu Falae

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae, who was freed after spending four days in captivity, yesterday recounted his ordeal. Falae, who reunited with his family in Akure and was welcomed home by a crowd, said he slept on the bare floor for four days.

The septuagenarian added that he trekked more than 30 kilometres from his Ilado farm in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, where he was abducted, to a place in Owo Local Government Area where he was kept during his captivity.

The former SGF was kidnapped on Monday by suspected Fulani herdsmen who stormed his farm in Ilado. But yesterday, Falae returned to his home in Akure, the state capital, in company with the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, who led the rescue team. Arase and the family said no ransom was paid to the kidnappers before Falae was released.

However, Falae, who was visibly worried, said he did not sleep in one location during the four days he was in captivity. His kidnappers moved him from one location to another to avoid being caught by law enforcement agents.

He said his abductors were monitoring media reports and were moving him from one location to another within four hours, to avoid being detected. He said he suspected that the kidnappers were using the proceeds from their various crimes to fund Boko Haram as they told him that the N2 million being offered by his family, instead of the N100 million they initially demanded, was not enough to do anything.

Arase, who accompanied Falae to his house, said the police had been working to free the former SGF since his abduction and he was freed without anybody paying ransom to the kidnappers. He added that the police were working round the clock to stem kidnappings and other crimes. He said: “A security challenge like this is a new trend; it is not only localised in Nigeria, but it is a global thing. We are going to develop a strategy that hoodlums will never overwhelm a state.

It is not possible, we are going to interdict them, we are going to degrade them and catch them.”
On whether the police swung into action because of the order by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday that they should do everything necessary to rescue Falae, Arase said they had been on the case since Monday.

He added that some suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident, but declined to disclose how many. Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, was happy that Falae was released without any harm to him. He said the government was working with security agencies to make sure such criminality is reduced in the state.

Culled from:Telegraph