The kidnapped presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in the April 2015 presidential election, Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima, has regained his freedom after spending more than two days in the hands of kidnappers in Kogi State, paying about N40 million for his release.
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Narrating his ordeal in the hands of his abductors, Galadima told reporters that the incident occurred a few kilometres drive after Lokoja, close to Obajana town. He also confirmed that he and two other men were released in the afternoon after a ransom of N40 million was paid.
“Our vehicles were robbed by the Fulani men before three of us were selected and matched into the forest. After trekking for about 10 kilometres, they now informed us that we have been abducted. They were Fulani boys, about 12 or 15 of them. Since were taken into the forest, in about 50 hours that I spent with them, we had trekked all together not less than 40 kilometres,” he said.
While explaining how he was kidnapped, the politician that he was traveling on Friday morning to his home state to a attend a burial ceremony along with his younger brother, before they were waylaid and the kidnappers first robbed the occupants of the vehicles before selecting three of them for abduction.
“As I explained before our kidnappers were Fulani young men between the ages of 25- 35 years. They demanded a ransom of N40 million from each of us and asked us to drop the money at designated location,” Galadima said.
The former presidential aspirant added that the two other victims were Bisi from Akoko-Edo who was going for a burial in his village and another that he could not recollect his name who were all forced to provide the ransom before they were freed yesterday.
“it was after we had been robbed that the young men forced the three of us to march into the bush with them” he explained.
Galadima lamented that no policeman came to their rescue despite being informed, adding that they were only released after their abductors had collected the N40 million ransom they had demanded from each of them.
