An orthopaedic surgeon at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Prof Olayinka Adegbehingbe, who was kidnapped on Sunday, said the Fulani herdsmen who kidnapped him were paid N5.045m before he was freed.
Adegbehingbe said this on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at his residence on the OAU campus.
The surgeon, who said he was hale and hearty, attributed his release to the power of God.
According to him, the kidnappers had demanded N30m ransom but later collected N5.045m for his release after much negotiation.
He condemned the level of insecurity across the country, saying majority of the youths were jobless and had now resorted to crime.
Adegbehingbe said, “The Federal Government needs to invest more in security; we need to know the identity of people coming in and going out of the town, state and the country at large.
“The people who abducted me were Fulani herdsmen and they had four guns and multiple rounds of ammunition as well as other weapons. ”
He called for community policing as well as provision of employment for the youths, adding that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
“I also thank the security operatives, the entire OAU and OAUTHC communities, our families, church members and all other well-wishers for their prayers and other support rendered,’’ he added.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association in Osun State, Prof Oluwole Komolafe, expressed gratitude to God for Adegbehingbe’s release.
“The Federal Government should look into the issue of security across the country so that citizens would have rest of mind,” he said.
Also, a consultant cardiologist at the OAU Teaching Hospital Complex, Prof Rasaq Adebayo, attributed his colleague’s release to God’s intervention.
“We thank God for the release of our colleague; for we cannot afford to miss an intelligent, competent and a qualified surgeon like him,” he stated.
The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, while speaking with NAN, said the kidnapped lecturer was released at about 8pm on Monday.
Adegbehingbe was kidnapped on the Ife-Ibadan expressway on Sunday while returning from Lagos.