The family of a woman, Olayinka Oremade, who was reportedly abducted by gunmen in the Alapako/Oyebola area of Ogun State, has appealed to the Nigeria Police Force and the government to intensify efforts to secure her release.

The victim was reportedly kidnapped alongside one of her staff members on Friday, August 14, after gunmen allegedly attacked their vehicle while they were returning from a farm in the area.

Speaking in a WhatsApp conversation with our correspondent on Saturday, Olayinka’s son, Oremade Ilerioluwa, said his mother had gone to a farm to create content for her business before she and her staff were allegedly ambushed on their way back.

According to him, four armed men appeared in front of the vehicle, prompting his mother to attempt to reverse and escape.

He said, “When they were in the vehicle, four of the kidnappers appeared at the front. She tried to reverse when she noticed what was going on. As she was reversing, three other kidnappers appeared at the back, and they shot the back tyres.

“At that point, there was nothing she could do again, and the car got stuck at a point inside the bush. They had no choice but to come down. All of them opened the door and started running out.

“Unfortunately, two of the staff were able to escape, while my mum and one of the other staff were apprehended by the kidnappers.”

Ilerioluwa said the family received details of the incident from one of his mother’s workers, a surveyor and the staff members who escaped.

He added that the family reported the incident to the police the following day and visited the nearest police station to the scene, Ajebo, to obtain information about the rescue efforts.

According to him, the police officers said they had searched the area but did not find the abducted victims. He added that the officers discovered the victim’s car and took the two escaped staff members in for questioning.

He said the alleged kidnappers later contacted the family on Saturday night and initially demanded a ransom of N200m.

“They called around 9:45pm at night. The next day, which was Sunday, they called around that time too, asking for the same amount.

“We told them that we don’t have it. We kept negotiating until Wednesday evening when they said we should go and look for N100m, which we still told them that we don’t have,” he said.

The victim’s son added that he was able to speak directly with his mother during one of the calls, saying she urged him to seek financial assistance from family members to secure her release. He said hunters in the area had also been searching for his mother and the other abducted woman, but the efforts had yet to yield results.

In another statement obtained from Olayinka’s second son, whose name was not given, PUNCH Metro was informed that the alleged abduction had left the family devastated.

“My family has been going through it for the past five days. Every day we wake up hoping that today she will come back home, but there has been no action from the government.

“Every phone call makes our heart stop because we do not know what the next update is going to be. We are worried about what she is going through, whether she is scared or hungry, or whether she has been able to sleep.

“We are all scared. We are struggling to function normally. I can’t walk properly, I can’t think properly, I can’t even eat properly,” he said.

He appealed to members of the public who might have useful information or influence that could aid his mother’s release to assist the family.

“She’s my mum. She’s also a wife, a mother, a friend to people, and someone who means everything to us. Knowing that she’s somewhere out there in the hands of people who have taken away her freedom, I really can’t wish this on anyone else, but I’m in a lot of pain.

“I’m pleading with anyone who can help, anyone who has information or any influence that can bring my mum back home. Please help us. We don’t want anything else. We just want her back,” he added.

The family also appealed to the Nigeria Police Force and the government to intensify efforts to rescue the two victims, saying they were unable to meet the N100m ransom allegedly demanded by the abductors.

“We need the help of the Nigerian police to put more hands on this matter and try and rescue them, because we have no way to be able to pay this ransom money.

“We need the government to put more hands on this matter and find these people.”

Multiple calls and text messages were sent to the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Babaseyi Oluseyi, seeking the command’s response to the allegations and an update on the reported rescue operation, but he had not responded as of the time of filing this report.