An Unexpected Kidnapper

By Abraham Favour Olohigbe

   I remember vividly that very night as I ran through Ìjèbú Igbó with the assailant's footsteps pounding right behind me. You could hear the sounds of crickets and other animals nearby, as I ran for my dear life from my kidnapper. It is a terrible thing to be kidnapped and it is more disastrous to be raped and worse of it all I was about to be used as a sacrifice.

     Earlier that day, I was walking down to my mother’s shop which was on Bankole Street in Òkè Àdò, I had to take care of the shop while she went to pick up my siblings from school. I was just ten shops away from her shop when a black sedan with tinted windows pulled up close to me. I didn’t know what happened next cause it all occurred in the twinkle of an eye, two heavily built men dropped me off from the car and bundled me in. Ah!!! Men are wicked, every other thing was fuzzy as they had but the back of my head. I woke up in a dark room with a lantern by my side.

      It was dark but I had to be awake, I was scared and helpless, many things had run through my mind but I couldn’t get the reason as to why I was kidnapped or who had kidnapped me. Not too long three men came inside the room all clothed in red. A few minutes after they had entered, an old man came in with a calabash. I shouted, “Ha! Ayé mí! Ta ní mo ṣẹ̀?” (Ah! Who have I offended?). Then I heard Uncle Dẹlẹ's voice as clear as day saying “This is my sister's only daughter. The one you asked me to bring”. I never knew that the saying about a man’s greatest enemy being of his household. My uncle wants to sacrifice his only sister’s daughter like a ram, so my life will just be taken away from me without my consent and brutally at that. The man said they needed some other few things to conclude the sacrifice and it must be done in the next three days.

        Just like that my life became a  Nollywood movie, all I could think of was pain and death. Well, that was until the afternoon of the third day. I was panicking and ready to find a way out, it was then I found out the ropes used to tie me were somewhat loose. After a little struggle, I freed myself and found my way out to the window. Not too long after I had begun running, I heard heavy strides coming from behind me, and behold it was Uncle Dele, I ran not minding where I was going, all I knew was I needed to get to a  place with a crowd. I kept on running until I got to the town’s market and fainted.

       I woke up later in a hospital and was told someone had paid my bills. I couldn’t talk for days and was very cautious, it even took some time before I could recall my mother’s number. They got in touch with my mother and I told her everything, I haven’t seen an older woman sob as much as she did that very day. I’m just really grateful that I am alive but it has been tough to trust anyone in my life ever since that day.