Renowned author and educationist, Dr. Elechi Amadi, on Wednesday recounted how he was abducted on Monday night, saying the gunmen demanded N300m ransom from him.
The septuagenarian, who described the ordeal as one of the worst in his life, added that he trekked for five kilometres through bush paths after his release.
He, however, appealed to the Federal and the Rivers State governments to provide employment opportunities for youths to curb the criminality in the Niger Delta.
Amadi, who is also the chairman of the Rivers State Scholarship Board, spoke with journalists at his home in Mbodo Aluu, a serene community near Port Harcourt.
He said that the kidnappers, whom he described as “hungry young men in search of food and shelter,” had him blindfolded throughout the period he was in their custody.
The author and poet said, “Monday night was one of the worst nights in my life. I was in my living room watching television with my wife when we heard a knock on the door.
“My wife went to the door and asked who it was and the person spoke Ikwerre and so my wife did not think that there was any danger so she opened the door and three men with rifles entered the room and asked for money.
“I told them I did not have and they said you must have money. I went into bedroom with one of them, opened a drawer where I had some money for my children’s school fees. I handed it over to him.
“They asked for dollars and I said I did not have dollars. At that point, he said I should follow him to the car. I thought the proper thing to do was to follow them. So I went into their car.
“They blindfolded me and then drove off into the bush where I passed the night. It was a marshy area. I slept on a marshy floor. The next day we started negotiating.
“They asked me to just give them N300m. They said they didn’t want to kill me but wanted money. They said they were young unemployed men and that the government was doing nothing about employment and that I am one of the big guns in government.
“I said that I sympathised with them. I told them that if they wanted money, they had to be on their own.
“I said to them, you came to my house, didn’t you? They said ‘yes’. I said to them, you saw a small bungalow in the bush with no wall, no barbwire, no security gate and no big cars.
“I said if I were a millionaire, you would not have seen all those things. You have come to the wrong person. If you want money, I don’t have it. I cannot give what I don’t have.
“They said ‘you are the chairman of scholarship board and you should have money.’ They said as chairman of scholarship board ‘you get money and pay to students.’ I said I don’t have money just because I am the chairman of scholarship board.
“They said ‘we heard that the governor has visited your house where we took you.’ I said I don’t know. They said ‘you are in good terms with the governor, so tell him to give you money to give us.’
“I said well, I am in the bush here with you. How will I tell the governor? They were afraid to give me the handset because they thought I would make contacts. They urged me to call the governor and I asked them to give me my handset.
“They said no. They asked ‘do you have the number off hand? The governor is your brother. He is you friend.’ I said I am an old man and cannot recollect all the numbers.
“After a long talk, they said, you are an innocent man, we are going to release you. By 6:30pm, they released me in the bush and disappeared. I had to find my way. I walked for about five miles in the bush before I came to a Shell location where my friends were driving around.
“I met one of them, Chief Abaro, in his car. He hugged me and said we have been looking for you all over the place.
“It (Monday night) was one of the worst nights I have ever spent. Even though I have been in the Army and spent nights in the open and in the bush, this particular one was one of the worst.
“It was a marshy ground. Imagine sleeping on the marshy ground blindfolded all the night. From the time I was abducted, I was blindfolded until I was released. I didn’t know where I was.
“The young men were very blunt. They said they brought me there not to keep me but to get money and that government was not providing jobs for them. They cited the ban on Okada (commercial motorcycles) which they used to get money.
“Basically they just wanted food and to live like every other person. So the state and federal governments should somehow find a way of generating jobs for the youths.”