September 15, (THEWILL) – The abducted Traditional Ruler of Umudi in Nkwerre local government area of Imo State, His Royal Highness, Eze Joel Udenkwo, who was kidnapped last Friday in front of his shop, along Tetlow Road, Owerri, where his electronics shop is located, has escaped from captivity from his abductors.
The monarch, who escaped Monday night, disclosed to friends in Owerri, Wednesday, that his kidnappers took him to a forest in Okwu village in Ikeduru local government area, where he was tied with a rope and kept at a place waiting for their N200 million ransom.
He said the ransom was later reduced to N12 million but was not paid due to the weekend and the sit-at-home that prevented the banks from working. He revealed that while they were waiting for the money to be sent, one of the abductors went to sleep, while the other went to smoke Indian hemp.
“It was when I noticed that the two men were nowhere around me that I carefully untied myself, quietly crawled, and left the scene.
He continued, “I meandered through the bush while they searched for me without knowing the route I took and subsequently found safety at a nearby house.
The Monarch disclosed how he narrated his ordeal to people and begged them to help him call an Eze around the community, after identifying himself as a monarch, saying this was happening around 10 pm.
“On getting the monarch of the place, he then linked up with the Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, who called in the police and the DSS, who came and took me away”, Eze Udenkwo further narrated.
As of the time of filing this report, no official statement had come from the Imo Police Command on the Monarch’s freedom.