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Kidnapping: Editor Recounts Close Shave in Lagos


"Wow! What a close shave!" That was all a former Style Editor with The Compass Newspapers, Ronke Kehinde, could say after a narrow escape from suspected kidnappers in Ikeja, Lagos.

Drugged and driving almost unconsciously through Ikeja, with three assailants on her trail, Mrs Kehinde, the wife of newsmakersng.com publisher, Dipo Kehinde, got off the hook in what she described as a miraculous escape.

This is her story:

It was like a scene from the movies, I was waylaid by strange men last Wednesday.

I was on my way home from the Computer village, Ikeja; driving towards the bridge, near Ikeja General Hospital. There was a holdup due to the traffic light under the bridge. Then, a lady appeared from the blues with flyers in her hand. She was by the passenger's window, but her hands were already inside my car, holding the flyer to my face.

She said, "You can buy landed properties by paying in installment."

A view of the flyer

I wasn't actually interested, but I took the flyer because I wanted her to go so that I could drive. At this time the traffic light had turned green. I took the flyer from her and dropped it on the passenger seat beside me.

As soon as I moved, I noticed something strange. My eyes were peppery.  I immediately took the flyer and threw it on the floor of the car because I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was as a result of the flyer, or maybe it was coming from the surrounding.

I took the roundabout turn, beside the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH); then I connected the flyover near Awolowo house. As I continued to drive, I was feeling so dizzy and uncomfortable. My face was peppery.

As I was getting close to Guinness, I noticed a light brown car following me. There were three men in the car. Anytime they get to my side, in the traffic, they will all look at me intensely.

It was at this point I realized that it was a set up. Although I was uncomfortable, I was conscious of my environment.  While driving I stuck my head outside the window, so I could get fresh breeze. I was choking.

Those guys were expecting to see an unconscious woman or one who is struggling to remain conscious. The lady that gave me the flyer must be working with them.

When they noticed that I was fully conscious because I was looking at them, they stopped following me.

When I got home and told my husband, he opened the same flyer, the effect of whatever it was laced with was still very potent. His eyes became peppery. He wrapped the flyer in a cellophane bag. He said that he would like to get someone to do a forensic analysis of the substance on it.

I'm sharing this so that all motorists will be aware and be careful. Kidnappers are using different techniques to get their victims.

When we shared this experience with some close friends, someone told us through a WhatsAppmessage that the flyer could have been soaked in a potent street drug called Burundangga (also known as Scopolamine), which criminals now use to incapacitate victims before attacking them.

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