BANDITS ABDUCT FAMILY HEAD, DETAIN HIM IN CAR BOOT FOR 8 HOURS

Aina
An Ogun State family head, Julius Aina, who was abducted and 'detained' in a car booth for eight hours, by some bandits has narrated his ordeal to Daily Sun.

The Head of Ido-Arobe family of Igbesa was said to have gone to renovate his house before some armed youths, from the neighbouring Ketu Adiye Owe, Paramole, Ishaga, Arigba Ade, Abule Akapo, invaded the community, unleashing terror on two of their children.

They came in a Mercedes Benz car and on motorcycles, wielding gun, machetes and other dangerous weapons.

According to Chief Aina, who went to the village in company of one of his kinsmen, Nathaniel Ebelamu, who was also abducted they went through hell before they regained their freedom.

Aina said: 'I mistook them to be Area Boys, who came to beg for alms, until they brandished their weapons. They ordered me to lie face-down. I ran into the room, they followed me. I hid under the bed and they dragged me out.' He disclosed how they hit him with gun butt, before tying him to a tree. 'Not satisfied with the torture, they stripped me naked, collected my beads, staff of office, wristwatch, handset and N200,000, meant for the renovation of the house,' he further alleged.

Corroborating Aina's claim, Ebelamo narrated how their assailants kicked him in the stomach, thereby, rupturing his bladder. 'Look, at my age, these youths dragged me on the floor, after hitting at my stomach. They continued to shout, 'we will kill you and nothing will happen',' he said. After torturing them for about an hour, Aina said he was dumped in the booth of a Mercedes Benz car, while Ebelamo was forced into the car before they sped off.

'I thought the heartless men were going to kill me. They drove me round the villages till in the evening, when they brought me out from the booth of the car and transferred me to another car. It was at that point that I lost consciousness. It was when I regained consciousness that I found myself in Sango police station, where I reported to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) what happened to me.'

Ebelamo's brother, Solomon, also narrated how the bandits invaded the village, shooting sporadically before they abducted his brother. He said: 'When I saw the way they were torturing my brother, I took to my heels, to alert other members of the community. But before we could come to their rescue, they had already taken them to unknown destination,' he said.

The Baale of Alagogo village, R.E. Odu, who said he was shocked over the incident, lamented that it was the same gang which invaded the community during a thanksgiving ceremony of his birthday. He appealed to the police to intervene to save them from what he called, unwarranted aggression. Odu, 60, disclosed how the bandits stormed his palace, demanding to see Aina. 'Before I could respond to their request, they threatened to kill me,' he alleged.

Meanwhile, counsel to the victims, Adeosun and Co, has petitioned the Area Commander of Sango-Ota, appealing to the police to ensure that the culprits (currently at large) are brought to justice.