A news report from a state-owned newspaper in Ondo State recounts the escape of a 14-year-old boy named Marvelous Ayomide Ogunjolu from his abductors.

The boy had been kidnapped while returning from a toothpaste purchase for his father, near Ojomu’s palace in Owo, on April 12, 2023.

In his own words, the boy described how he managed to escape by screaming after he saw a police car, which caused his kidnappers to abandon him.

The boy said, “My dad asked me to go buy some toothpaste yesterday afternoon. On my way back, a group of men stopped me and threatened me with a gun.

They told me to follow them and warned me not to scream or they would kill me. I was really scared, so I went with them. We drove through several towns until this morning when we came back to Ondo.

As we were driving, I saw a police car and started screaming for help. The kidnappers got scared and dropped me off on a street called Akinjagunla. I asked some people for the name of the street, and now I want to call my dad to let him know I’m okay.”

According to reports, the perpetrators fled the scene after leaving the boy on the street.

Sources also indicate that locals in the vicinity contacted the Amotekun corps and handed over the boy to them to conduct a thorough investigation.