How I escaped from gunmen who killed Sowore’s brother – Traveler

Emmanuella Anyanwu, a woman who reportedly escaped from the hoodlums that allegedly killed late Olajide Sowore on Saturday, claims the gunmen sought a N10 million ransom soon before she escaped from the camp where she was held with four others.

Anyanwu, who said she was traveling from Lagos to Imo to bury her husband, claimed she offered the kidnappers N500,000 but was told she was an idiot.

On Monday, she spoke about her trauma at the Benin police headquarters.

“We were traveling from Lagos to the eastern portion of the country on Friday when our vehicle broke down near Okada, on the outskirts of Benin,” she explained.

“We spent the night in the car. Some men emerged from the bush around 6.30 to 7 a.m. Saturday, shooting at us; we surrendered. There were two women and three men in our group.

“They took our belongings, including our phones and marched us into the bush. It took almost two hours to get to their camp. They blindfolded us and questioned us one after the other.

“They asked me where I was coming from and where I was going. I told them that I was coming from Lagos and going to Imo State for my husband’s burial. They asked how many kids I had and I told them two. I also told them I sold groundnut in Lagos. They asked if I was the one providing the money to bury my husband and I told them his brother would do that 

“They told me that they were kidnappers and they abducted me because of ransom. They said if I didn’t have money, they would take my life. I asked them how much they wanted, but one of them was furious I was asking them questions. I told them I needed to know what they wanted as ransom. They asked if I had N10m and I told them there was no way I could get that kind of money. I told them I would give them N500,000 from the money gathered from my village. One of them said I was a fool and they told me to sit down.

“Then it started raining heavily and they went away and brought another man. They took something from that man and their attention was on it. So, I removed my blindfold and crept away.

“I believe they are Fulani because on that Saturday afternoon, they released their cows and came to where we were being held.

“I saw a mast far away and I started trekking towards it. After one hour or more, I got to a road and saw an elderly man on a motorcycle. I asked him to take me to a police station, which he did.”

Asked if Sowore’s brother was killed by the gang, she said the hoodlums shot at different cars, adding that she could not tell if anyone died.

“They were harsh and warned us not to look at their faces. They also instructed us not to talk to each other. They beat the men, but spared the women. I sustained the wounds on my body when I was trying to find my way out of the bush,” she added.