By the daily torch media
Name withheld: A few days before my mother’s burial, I boarded a mini bus (commonly called Korope) from Overcomer, Upper Sakponba area, heading towards Third Junction in Benin City.
As the journey began, I noticed something strange — the driver and three other men in the bus seemed suspicious. One sat in front with the driver, and two were at the back. I was seated in the middle.
I quickly realized that the bus wasn’t stopping to pick up other passengers. So I asked them, “Why aren’t you picking up more people? I didn’t charter this bus.” One of them responded, saying they wanted me to be comfortable and that’s why they didn’t carry others.
Shortly after, I observed them exchanging strange eye signals. As we approached Tinader Park, my instincts kicked in. I told them I wanted to get off and offered to pay my fare — but that’s when things became tense.
They refused to let me down and suddenly zoomed off at an alarming speed. Moments later, the driver slammed the brakes, causing the door to jam shut. That was when I realized the bus had tinted windows — I couldn’t be seen from the outside.
Immediately, they sprang into action. They tore part of my clothing to gag my mouth and tied my legs with my trousers, as though I was a criminal. One of them pulled out a gun and threatened to kill me if I shouted or tried to draw attention.
As they continued driving, we approached a traffic jam near a police checkpoint by Hapco. I overheard one of them say, “Let’s avoid this checkpoint.” But the driver replied confidently, “Don’t worry, I know how to handle the police.”
They attempted to divert through a service lane, but as fate would have it, a trailer offloading goods was blocking the path. Left with no choice, they had to turn back toward the main road — right where the police checkpoint was.
By divine intervention, the vehicle in front of us was stopped by the police. As our bus approached, the officers noticed the reckless driving and signaled us to stop. When they asked the driver to wind down the windows, he refused…
As the police insisted that the driver wind down the tinted windows and he refused, I started banging the side of the bus with my elbows to alert them that someone was inside.
One of the officers heard the noise and asked what was making the sound inside the vehicle. The kidnappers quickly responded, saying it was a goat they were transporting. Suspicious, the police demanded again that they open the windows. When they still refused, one of the officers broke the side window of the bus.
To their shock, they discovered a naked, tied-up woman inside — it was me.
The officers immediately arrested the suspects. A kind woman selling pure water nearby gave me clothes to cover myself, and I was taken along with the kidnappers to the police station at Akpata Junction in the Upper area of Benin City.
At the station, when asked why they kidnapped me, the suspects confessed that they were working for an “Alhaji” who sent them to capture people for ritual purposes. They claimed there were many like them all over Benin City, working secretly for these ritualists.
After some procedures, I was released from the station after securing my bail.
I had often heard stories of ritual kidnappings but never believed they were real — until it happened to me.
