A 43-year-old realtor, Jimi Folarin, who reportedly went missing days after being called by a client to inspect properties in the Imota area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, has escaped from a kidnappers’ den.
Folarin’s sister, Omowunmi, told reporters that he left the house at exactly 4 PM on Wednesday for a property inspection and had not answered his phone since then.
Omowunmi reported the case to the Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu.
However, in the late hours of Friday, Omowunmi reached out to reporters, stating that her brother Folarin had just returned home after escaping from the kidnappers‘ den located in Sagamu, Ogun State.
Omowunmi explained that her brother took a motorcycle from his house to Itamaga, a place in Ikorodu, to meet with the kidnappers.
She said, “According to him, he took a bike from his house to Itamaga. When he got to Itamaga, he met the supposed client with a coaster bus. He entered the vehicle and found five men inside. Immediately he entered; they pointed a gun at him and told him to keep quiet.
“With fear, he asked them, ‘I thought you guys said we were going for the land?’ They said yes, let’s go for the land inspection. As they were going, they forced him to bow his head down. He then found himself inside a bungalow and didn’t know the direction.
“That’s how they took him to the house. They put him inside a room along with many others.
“He said that in the room, which was a bungalow, there were many people who had also been kidnapped. He told one of the men guarding the room that he needed to use the toilet. Although someone was already using it, he told the guard that he couldn’t hold it any longer and wanted to defecate.
“So one of the guards opened the door for him and told him to use a corner of the compound. While he was there, he noticed the guards were distracted, talking while facing away from him.
“That’s how he figured out a narrow way to the backyard, jumped the fence, and landed in a bush. He kept running until he found his way out of the area.
“He encountered a woman who told him he was in Sagamu. From there, he made his way to Ogijo, with the help of people who gave him money along the way when he explained his ordeal to them.”
Speaking on whether the kidnappers requested a ransom, Folarin stated that there were many people kidnapped and stored in the bungalow apartment, so he hadn’t yet had his turn to call his family.
Folarin said, “They didn’t ask me for ransom, but they were asking for ransom from others that I met there. It just hadn’t gotten to my turn before I escaped.”
