More victims among the several passengers abducted last week along Ughelli-Effurun road in Delta State have been released.
It was gathered that fifteen of the victims were released in the early hours of Tuesday after payment of ransoms.
The kidnappers had last week released four persons including a driver of a popular mass transit company in the state.
The kidnappers were said to have escorted the released victims to the spot where they were kidnapped before fleeing back to their hideout.
One of the freed victims said they were taken deep into the forest and fed twice a day by women.
The source also said the criminals were well armed and were constantly beating the male victims.
It was also gathered that some of the victims paid ransom of between N500,000 and N5million to secure their freedom.
“Over 25 of us were kidnapped but midway into the journey, they shared us into two groups. Those injured were left to go. We had 15 of us in my group. We don’t know where the other victims were taken, but they were escorted by another group of gunmen, one of the released victims said.
“They [kidnappers] took us to cross three rivers before we got to their hideout inside a thick forest. We were blindfolded during most part of captivity except when we are to eat. We saw women in the camp. They were in charge of the food. We’re also blindfolded when they released us”, another of the freed victims narrated to a sister online news outlet, Nger Delta Today.
When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, claimed only 11 of the travellers, from her records, had been freed.
“From our records, only eleven persons have been freed since the attack. Four persons were first released and then others bring the number to eleven.
“It was two of them that were released yesterday (Monday) night. We are only aware of eleven persons so far”, the police spokesperson clarified.