By Ihotu John Rebecca, a player of the Oyo State Pacesetter Queens FC, has been reportedly kidnapped along the Benin Expressway, AfrikTimes can confirm.
Reports of her abduction surfaced on Sunday morning after photos and messages circulated on social media alleging that the footballer was taken by unidentified gunmen who are demanding ₦20 million for her release.
Confirming the incident in a telephone conversation with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, the team’s head coach, Akinwunmi Isogun, said the player was abducted while travelling home for a break after the team’s match in Abuja.
“It was on her way back home on Benin Expressway after their big match in Abuja. When they gave them a break, she was going home, that’s when she was kidnapped. She was kidnapped on Friday,” he said.
FIJ also quoted a relative of the victim as saying that the player was travelling from Ibadan to Asaba, Delta State, when the incident occurred. The relative noted that the family received a call between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Friday notifying them of the abduction, adding that four of the seven passengers in the vehicle managed to escape.
As of the time of filing this report, there has been no official statement from security agencies regarding the development.
This abduction comes at a time when many Nigerians are grappling with worsening insecurity across the country, marked by rising cases of kidnapping for ransom, killings and what citizens often describe as inadequate response from the appropriate authorities.
Road travel, in particular, has become increasingly dangerous, with several major routes now identified as kidnapping hotspots for unsuspecting passengers.
