SOURCE: Punch
Less than two months after 29-year-old Kemisola Ogunyemi lost her mother, her family now has a fresh problem to contend with.
Less than two months after 29-year-old Kemisola Ogunyemi lost her mother, her family now has a fresh problem to contend with.
The tragedy of losing her mother on
December 26, 2012 had brought Kemisola and her husband, Yinka, back home
from the United States where they had lived in for about a year.
But the joy of seeing the family they
left behind in Nigeria has become short-lived as Kemisola was kidnapped
about 8.30pm in Ajah, Lagos on Sunday, February 10, 2013 by a gang of
kidnappers.
Since the incident, Kemisola’s husband,
Yinka, and father have been too distraught to attend to visitors, a
family member who sought anonymity told our correspondent.
The relation told our correspondent that
Kemisola was kidnapped about one minute’s drive to her Abraham Adesanya
Estate home in Ajah.
She said, “Kemisola and her husband just
got an apartment in Abraham Adesanya Estate. In fact, they moved in less
than a month ago.
“The day she was kidnapped, she was
coming back from a visit to her father who lives in Ikorodu. When she
got to Jeffery Plaza, which is about a minute’s drive to her hosue, some
men double-crossed her Murano Sport Utility Vehicle, took control of
the car and took her away in it.
“We actually got the details from people
who witnessed it around the plaza. They said the kidnappers shot into
the air and zoomed away with her in the car.”
But the family’s apprehension became
heightened when Kemisola’s SUV was discovered the following day in the
front of Ogombo Police Station, Ajah with one of her shoes in it.
On Monday, our correspondent learnt that the kidnappers called her husband with Kemisola’s phone.
Kemisola’s husband picked the call and
was confronted by a voice at the other end, who spoke in pidgin in what
was believed to be an Igbo accent.
“They called about 11.41 am on Monday.
The speaker clearly sounded like an Igbo man. He said, ‘Where are you?’
But when Yinka said he was in the house, the speaker asked again ‘Are
you sure? Are you sure you are in the house?’
“Yinka insisted that he was in the house. He told them he wanted to speak with Kemisola and they gave the phone to her.
“Kemi sounded very distraught on the phone. She was begging her husband to please help her and do everything the men demanded.”
But it was learnt that the kidnappers disconnected the call after thepy instructed Yinka to call them later by 2pm on Monday.”
Kemisola’s husband called back not long
after the call was disconnected but the phone had been switched off. He
called again about 2.15pm and the phone was still switched off.
The kidnappers later called on Monday night and demanded N60m for Kemisola’s release.
The relation told our correspondent,
“When they asked for the money, we were all shocked. We pleaded with
them, but they were threatening to kill her.
“How do we get N60m? We are not
politicians. Yinka is just a salary earner while Kemisola has not even
got a job since they got back to Nigeria.”
But on Tuesday, it was learnt that the
kidnappers called again with their own number. The relation noted that
they sounded anxious and were insistent that the N60m should be paid as
soon as possible.
She said the kidnappers called about 10 times repeating their demand and asking when it would be paid.
“The man who spoke on the phone said, ‘We
will kill her if you don’t pay. We kidnapped two other women and we
have already killed them because they did not pay what we demanded.’ How
do we get N60m? The whole family is really confused right now,” the
source said.
According to the family member, when
Yinka spoke with Kemisola again, she sounded calmer. But the kidnappers
did not give him time to ask his wife if they had manhandled her as they
made the call very brief.
Kemisola was said to have left for the US with her husband shortly after their wedding in 2011.
A resident of the area told our correspondent that Kemisola was kidnapped in an area notorious for criminality.
About a month ago, some policemen were
killed by robbers in the area while a young man, Ikenna, was
dispossessed of his N1.3m car around Abraham Adesanya Estate on February
3, by carjackers.
However, on Friday evening, the family said Kemisola had been released after an unspecified ransom was paid.
A family member, who spoke with our
correspondent, said, “Kemi told us she was beaten brutally. They dropped
her off along the Lekki-Epe Expressway around 8pm on Thursday. Luckily,
she was able to get help from motorists and later contacted us.
“We paid the ransom on Thursday morning
after the kidnappers played different tricks to ensure they evaded
capture. They thought we had involved the police.
“We just thank God we have her back. But she’s not in any condition to answer any questions for now. She is resting.”
However, the Deputy Public Relations
Officer of the state command, Mr. Damascus Ozoani, said he was not aware
that Kemisola had been released when our corresondent contacted him.
“I will find out about the investigation from the Ajah Police Division,” he said.
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