Crime
Victim reveals identity of bandits, narrates how they struck Sept 4 when Sowore died
Circumstances surrounding the killing of Olajide Sowore, the younger brother of Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore bandits killed Sept 4, have now been made clearer.
One of the victims of the kidnapping and shooting revealed how it all happened—as far as she could see when the bandits struck.
According to Emmanuella Anyanwu, she was on her way from Lagos to bury her late husband in Imo when their vehicle broke down midnight Friday, and they, two ladies and three men, had to wait till day break.
“We passed the night in the vehicle. Around 6.30am to 7am Saturday, some men came out from the bush, shooting at us; we surrendered,” she told the Edo police command.
“They took our belongings, including our phones and marched us into the bush. It took almost two hours to get to their camp. They blindfolded us and questioned us one after the other.
According to her, the gunmen demanded a ransom of N10 million.
“They asked how many kids I had and I told them two. I also told them I sold groundnut in Lagos. They asked if I was the one providing the money to bury my husband and I told them his brother would do that.
“They told me that they were kidnappers and they abducted me because of ransom. They said if I didn’t have money, they would take my life. I asked them how much they wanted, but one of them was furious I was asking them questions. I told them I needed to know what they wanted as ransom.
“They asked if I had N10m and I told them there was no way I could get that kind of money. I told them I would give them N500,000 from the money gathered from my village. One of them said I was a fool and they told me to sit down.
“Then it started raining heavily and they went away and brought another man. They took something from that man and their attention was on it. So, I removed my blindfold and crept away.
“I believe they are Fulani because on that Saturday afternoon, they released their cows and came to where we were being held.
“I saw a mast far away and I started trekking towards it. After one hour or more, I got to a road and saw an elderly man on a motorcycle. I asked him to take me to a police station, which he did.”
“They were harsh and warned us not to look at their faces. They also instructed us not to talk to each other. They beat the men, but spared the women. I sustained the wounds on my body when I was trying to find my way out of the bush,” she added.
About Sowore, Emmanuella said the hoodlums shot at different cars, and she could not tell if anyone died.
The National Daily reported earlier how the police explained Sowore was ordered to stop, but he didn’t, and they shot at his car.