Freed Nollywood actress, Cynthia Okereke, has revealed what her abductors told while she was in captivity.
In an interview with Sunday Scoop, Okereke said the kidnappers told her that Nollywood doesn’t support Nnamdi Kanu – founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) – in his fight for the realisation of Biafra.
The actress also stated that her abduction was a mistake as she was not the original target of the kidnappers.
Pulse reports that Okereke and a colleague, Clemson Cornell, were kidnapped in Enugu State, and their kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of $100,000.
Commenting on the ransom, the actress said, contrary to some reports, a ransom was paid to secure her release, adding that “It is a lie.”
Asked how much she parted with to regain freedom, Okereke said, “That is what I won’t tell you, but a ransom was paid. I don’t want it to go viral but ransom was paid. My husband was the one who took the ransom to Ngwa in Abia State.”
Narrating her ordeal in the kidnappers’ den, she said, “They did not give me anything. For the first two days I was there, I was not given any food. It was on the third day they gave me milk and a malt drink. Because my stomach was empty, I knew that I would vomit if I took it, so I declined.”
Asked if the kidnappers recognised her as an actress, Okereke said, “When they captured us at Centenary Junction in Enugu, they said, ‘Cynthia Okereke, you think we don’t know you’? So, I asked them what they wanted and pleaded that they should take my car when they shot into the air. They said they did not need the car.”
Speaking on how she landed at the criminal’s lair, the actress said, “We were wrapped with a trampoline and taken to an unknown destination. It was the following morning that one of them asked me if I know where I was. I said I didn’t no, and told me we were in Ebonyi State.”
Recounting some of the things the abductors told her while in captivity, said, “They said Nollywood is not supporting Nnamdi Kanu (founder of the Indigenous People of Biafra), that we should come out en masse to support him. According to them, ‘Kanu is fighting for every one (Igbo people).”
