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The kidnappers of Olubunmi Agbana, father of Gbenga
Agbana, a Punch editor, have reduced the ransom placed on the
74-year-old man to N15 million, almost a week after he was abducted on
his way to the farm at Irele, Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti
State.

The kidnappers had initially demanded a ransom of N20 million to free the man.

Mr Agbana, who the kidnappers have been in contact
with, told journalists in Ado-Ekiti that his father’s abductors
threatened to kill their captive if the family failed to pay the ransom
before the end of the day.

“I spoke with my father again and those holding him
have reduced the ransom demanded to N15 million,” he said. “They also
threatened to waste him if we refuse to pay the money by 4pm. But where
can I get such money from?”

Full of hope

Mr Agbana said members of the extended family are
running round to see how the money can be raised, but he said that it
is almost impossible to raise such a huge sum of money.

“I offered to pay them N200,000, but they became very
angry and threatened to kill him. They also told me that he might die
in their hideout because of his ill health. They said that his legs had
swollen and he was very sick,” he said.

Mr Agbana said his father left the hospital a day
before he was abducted by some armed youth. He said the drugs given to
his father at the hospital were still at home, and the septuagenarian
had relapsed in the kidnappers’ den.

Despite this, he expressed hope that his father would soon regain
his freedom because “security operatives have identified some suspects.”