For Chief Collins Adikoko, the deputy paramount ruler of Ikeinghenbiri Kingdom in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, February 17, 2015 will remain indelible in his memory and that of his family members.
When Adikoko left his elder brother’s wake on the fateful day to relax in his house as he was on medication, nothing warned him that a nasty experience was afoot.
No sooner had he gone to bed to have a rest than a gang of kidnappers stormed his residence and cut short his sleep.
What started like a tale by the moonlight landed him in the kidnappers’ den in a mangrove forest at Ikebiri area of the state, where he spent two gruelling weeks, feeding on junks.
Apart from that, the 70-year-old monarch was on a daily basis subjected to psychological torture due to threats to kill him if his family failed to raise N70m ransom for his freedom.
Adikoko’s sin was that his son, who is the Chief of Staff of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, is considered rich and an alleged alter ego of the House Speaker, Mr. Kombowei Benson.
Adikoko, who was whisked away from his residence on February 17, 2015 only regained his freedom on Tuesday, March 3, two weeks later.
Narrating his ordeal in the hands of his captors, the monarch told Saturday PUNCH that his experience was better imagined than felt.
He said, “On the fateful day, I was not well as I had been on medication before the wake. Because of the effects of the drugs I took, I decided to go to bed early.
“But around 2am, some gun-wielding kidnappers barged into my residence. One of my sons was around; they opened the window, captured him and covered his mouth. They forced the boy to call out to me.
“I did not know that my son was with unusual visitors. When I opened the door, they swooped on me. Then one of them came in with a long rifle.
“They blindfolded me and closed my mouth. Then, they dragged me outside. There, they removed the blindfold and what they used to cover my mouth. They ordered me to either keep quiet or die.
“Outside, there was a flying boat that was already waiting. They hounded me into the boat without allowing me to enter by myself. Immediately we were on board the boat, they blindfolded me again.
He said he later learnt that he was taken past Ikebiri I, Ikebiri II and Ikebiri III before arriving at a small creek.
He said a small bridge connected the creek to the island which is one of their hideouts.
Adikoko said as soon as the boat stopped there, the kidnappers, who were about eight in number, had no regard for his age as he was physically dragged on the bridge.
He added, “It was a small island. When we got there, there was a thatched bed. Their commander ordered the men to go and get a foam. They put it on the bed and asked me to stay there.
“At the place, they asked me, ‘where is the money your son brought?’ I looked blankly into the dark cloud as I could not fathom what they were talking about. They said he had given me money and built a house for me.
“They also said he works with the Speaker, BSHA, Benson. They asked me to tell my son to bring N70m as ransom for my release. Initially, I thought they were joking. But when I saw their eyes, I knew they were dead serious.”
The monarch said at that point, fear gripped him as he did not know what would be their next line of action.
He said in the midst of his confusion and trepidation, some of his captors, retorted, “We are aware the Bayelsa State Government had approved road construction to Koluama and that Kombowei had pocketed that money. They said Kombowei embezzled the money meant for the road project and that my son works with him.
“They asked me to tell my son to collect N70m from Kombowei for them so that they could get their share of the project fund. They said there was no excuse that there was no money since the Speaker had yet to construct the road.”
Adikoko said it was then it started dawning on him that he might have been kidnapped because of an allegation he knew nothing about.
He said he then told his captors that if that was the reason for abducting him, they had taken the wrong person.
He stated, “I told them if that was the matter, I had no connection with Kombowei and my son, too, is a distant relation of Kombowei. I told them frankly that I was not from the same place with Kombowei and I had not got a kobo from him.
“I told them if they wanted to get money from Kombowei, I was not the right person to help them.”
On how he fared during his two weeks of captivity, the deputy Paramount Ruler said he was fed with junks, which made him purge constantly.
He added, “Though they gave me food, it was not my favourite. I was restricted completely. Sometimes, they threatened me that if I did not assist them to get the money, they would kill me.
“The constant threats affected my appetite and the food itself was not what I was used to. The food was prepared anyhow.
“I visited the toilet a lot. Instead of them to sympathise with me over my agony, they usually told me, ‘you have to be strong. If you die, we will bury you there. They showed me where they were going to bury me if I died.’
“Even though I was purging, they forced me to eat the bad food. I was enveloped by fear that I would die since they were not mindful of my predicament. I was afraid throughout my stay in captivity. I was uncomfortable, although they did not beat me.”
He said on one occasion, hell was let loose, when they called his son and told him about their N70m demand.
He said the kidnappers were infuriated when his son replied them in a rather sarcastic manner.
He said his son had asked his captors why they were asking him to bring money since he was not owing them.
Adikoko said, “My son wondered why they were asking for N70m. He asked them if he was owing them. I even told them we did not have such money. They became infuriated and shouted at my son on the phone. They told him if he loved his father, he should save him now or they would make his corpse available to him.
“I told them to leave me and that even if they threatened me till eternity, they would not get any money from me. I advised them to go for other people.
“When I uttered those words, they interrupted me. They said they knew everything about us. They said they knew where my son was building his house in Yenagoa and that they had been there.
“From the way they spoke, I suspected they knew my son and my daughters very well. But when they realised that keeping me there for long was bad for their business, they said they would let me go on a Friday. When that day came, they postponed it till Monday. On Monday, they said Tuesday. And when Tuesday came, they said they would call my son first before deciding on what to do.”
Adikoko said on Tuesday, March 3, they took him to a place where they called his son on the telephone and asked him to bring a boat, a driver and an unspecified amount of money to Izankubu between Olodiama and Bassa clan in Southern Ijaw area.
He said on the telephone, his son promised to bring them ‘something’ but did not expatiate the amount.
He said, “They also asked my son to bring a drum of fuel to one creek at Izakunbu.
“I noticed that they often changed the people manning the camp where I was held hostage. At times, about 15 persons would come from another camp and those in our camp would go to other camps.
“On that Tuesday, while we were waiting for my son’s boat to arrive, they started parading the creeks with me, looking for people to kidnap. When I begged them to let me go, they shouted at me and said I should not dictate to them. They said they were looking for new people to replace me.
“Few minutes after 9am on Tuesday, my son arrived in a boat. My captors started shooting sporadically into the air to frighten the boat driver. When they noticed he came in peace, they went straight for the boat and discharged all the fuel in the boat into their own including a bag containing money.
“I do not know how much it was as they did not count the money there. Then they ordered me to go. I entered inside the boat brought by my son and left. That was how I was freed by my captors.”
The septuagenarian said he noticed that during his stay at the camp, his captors’ major interest was money.
He said his impression of the kidnappers was that they have little regard for human life.
