Father Of Freed School Boy Relives Agony

Published on January 28, 2013 by pmnews   ·   No Comments

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Father of the two-year old Nigerian school boy that was kidnapped last week, Olusegun Alonge has relieved the agony he went through when his son, Emmanuel, was taken away by some gunmen last Monday.

Emmanuel was released by his abductor on Saturday after his father had paid N5 million ransom. He was taken hostage last Monday while on his way to school inside his father’s SUV at Iju area of Lagos.

After Emmanuel’s release at the weekend, Alonge said he saw hell all through the five days his son was with the kidnappers.

According to him, he could not sleep throughout the five days while the family, church members and loved ones prayed ceaselessly for Emmanuel’s release.

“I am so happy. Since the day my child was kidnapped, I did not taste sleep, it was another life entirely. Since that Monday, it has been a thug of war beyond explanation. When I heard about the kidnap, I thought it was a myth.

“It can’t be true, but I got to know that it was a reality when they started calling and demanding for their ransom. That was when it dawned on me that my child had actually been kidnapped.

“I started negotiating with them and I never knew they had insiders. They even congratulated me for my twins. When we got the money for the ransom, they even told me not to use my Lexus jeep, they said I should use the cream car. It was a nasty experience. So, I could not sleep; but I thank God that at the end of the day, I was able to see my child.”

Alonge said before now, he thought kidnapping was a thing associated with militants in the Niger Delta.

“I never believed in kidnapping, I used to think it was for the Niger Delta. The state government needs to do something urgent so that the situation here will not be like that of the Niger Delta because if it continues in Lagos, things will scatter,” he stated.

On the day of his child’s kidnap, Alonge did not know whether to be sad or be happy as his wife gave birth to twins the same day.

“It was a mixed reaction when my wife gave birth to twins and my child was kidnapped the same day. You now have on one hand, good news and on the other hand, bad news. So, because of the bad news, you cannot rejoice over the good news.

“Until today, after seeing my child again, I never wanted to hear any congratulatory message. It is now I can accept congratulation. This incident will make me get closer to God because I never knew I had enemies within. The kidnappers treated my boy very well. He was not lean for the five days he was in captivity. He even put on more weight,” he stated.

As for the N5 million he paid to set his son free, Alonge said: “Nothing is too much to pay for my child’s release. I cannot allow that child to be killed because of the amount.

“I was also praying seriously everyday for my child to be released. Thousands of people were praying too. I could not eat throughout the period. I now know that to employ a house help, one needs to know the background of such a person and pray to God for direction. I pray such experience will never happen again. It is time to rejoice because my child is back again.”

At the house of the Alonges, there was great joy when the child was brought home. A woman was seen kneeling down and worshipping God loudly, while another group of women were seen also praising God.

Pastor Fredrick Akinrinde, a friend of the family, described the kidnapping of little Emmanuel as a sad thing, but noted that “we thank God that he gave us the child back in the end.”

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Posted by pmnews 2 hours, 40 minutes ago on January 28, 2013, 4:02 pm. Filed under Metro, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.