A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Lawal Rofiat Kofoworola, who was reportedly kidnapped on her way from Benin to Ibadan on Tuesday to resume at her Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) in Ogbomoso, has been released after days in captivity.
Rofiat was reportedly abducted while traveling in an Ore-bound bus and was later held by her captors, who demanded a ransom of ₦20 million for her release.
In a Facebook post, her close friend had earlier raised an alarm, disclosing that Rofiat had worked tirelessly to support herself through university, making her ordeal even more heartbreaking.
“This is someone who has struggled all her life, supporting herself through university by working at Dufil company in Benin. Now, kidnappers are demanding ₦20 million, and we don’t know what to do. Her parents are less privileged and can’t afford this”, the post said.
According an update on the same Facebook page, it was disclosed that through appeals for help, friends, colleagues, and well-wishers rallied together, raising ₦1.1 million, which was sent to the kidnappers on Friday at 4:20 PM.
According to the post, the ransom was paid into an account belonging to one Isaac Ayo, who claimed that his sister had also been kidnapped and promised to deliver the ransom alongside his own.
As relief came around 10 PM when the kidnappers released Rofiat and others in their custody. According to an update shared on social media, the victims were immediately taken to the hospital for medical attention. By Saturday morning, Rofiat was confirmed to be on her way home, while the other released captives also reunited with their families.
“For hours, we anxiously waited. Finally, at around 10 PM, we received the long-awaited call: they had been released and taken to the hospital. This morning, we got another call confirming that Rofiat was on her way home, and the others had also safely returned to their family”, the post said.
Expressing gratitude, her friend wrote, “I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed, shared the news, and tagged the necessary authorities. Your support made this possible. Alhamdulillah! God never fails. May none of you ever witness sorrow all the days of your life.”
According to the Facebook post, the case had earlier been reported to the NYSC Secretariat in Ibadan, but no official response was given at the time.
However, in a video clip gotten from Agbakwara Facebook page, the victim while narrating her ordeal and expressing gratitude, said 6 persons from 10 passenger inside the bus were kidnapped and taken to the bush and tortured.
“They took us to the bush they searched our body, collected our phones and our money and all our belongings”.
“From the market women who were going to buy fish, they collected 1.2M Naira from some, some they collected 600,000 Naira but I was with just 15,000 Naira”, sha said.
According to Rofiat, some other victims paid 5M, 3M, 1.5M to their abductor before their release.
