How I paid N.5m as ransom to Libyan kidnappers – returnee

By Ikhili Monday Ebalu, Benin City

A Libya returnee, Mr. Tony Taira, yesterday said he paid the sum of N500, 000 as ransom to regain his freedom from the hands of his captors in Libya.

He disclosed this to newsmen in Benin City shortly after he arrived the hotel where he was lodged alongside his co-deportees.

Taira said surviving in the Libya desert could be best ascribed to the grace of God and not by ones physical strength as many able-bodied young men lost their lives in an attempt to cross the desert.

“Crossing the desert, it is not by your physical strength. You will see a grown up man going through that desert he cannot make it and it is there you will also see a little boy going through such desert and making it.

“After the desert, when you are now in Libya, you may be kidnapped. Like in my case, I was kidnapped and forced to pay the sum of N500, 000 before I regained my freedom after much tortures.

“So after Libya, going to the Mediterranean Sea, that is another tug of war you will see couples trying to cross with their children, the children will survive while the couples will die. I witnessed it.

Taira, an HND graduate of Business Administration and Management from Delta State Polytechnic, who was seen wrapping up the leftover food for consumption in a later date, when asked the reasons behind his action said, he learnt that from the Libyans.

“One good thing I learnt in Libya is that, there is no wastage. An Arab man does not give out his money for any reason, you must work for it.

“So, I learnt something and that is one good thing I learnt in Libya. I do not waste things anymore. It is a very big thing I have learnt so far.

“My experiences in Libya are a lesson and training to me. It was more than my four years academic sessions I went through in the higher institution. It is more than the NYSC training just these six months I spent in Libya. It was tough, rough and hard”, he declared.

He however appealed to government and other well meaning Nigerians to assist him with funds to enable him go into farming.


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