The first thing that captures one’s sight in the Emeribe family sitting room in Festac Town is a photograph on the wall. It shows Mrs. Chinwe Emeribe in her University of Lagos graduation gown. Her smile is calm, gentle, and full of hope, a quiet pride captured in the frame. But today, that composed smile feels like a question suspended in the air, since she was kidnapped on November 9, 2025, along with five colleagues, all teachers and Assistant Directors of the Ministry of Defence attached to Command Secondary School, Ojo.

The Emeribes are not alone in this agony. Across Festac Town, Mr. Chibuikem Onwuzurike lives in the same torment. His wife, Mrs. Juliana Onyekachi Onwuzuruike, was abducted alongside Chinwe Emeribe and four other women. Both men spoke exclusively to Saturday Vanguard, their voices heavy with fear, frustration, and helplessness.

False news of release

In the days following the abduction, reports filtered through the media claiming that all six women had been released. But for the husbands, they described the news as cruelly false.

“I saw it on television” Chinwe’s husband, Nnamdi Emeribe said, shaking his head. “I called everywhere to verify. My wife and Mrs. Juliana Onwuzurike were still missing. That report was not true.”

For Chibuikem, his heart sank the moment he learned the truth. “When I finally got confirmation, it was worse than the uncertainty itself. Four women were released, yes. But my loving wife Juliana was not among them. My wife is still in captivity,” he said in a trembling voice.

The last words that haunt them

For Nnamdi Emeribe, the memory of his last conversation with his wife is seared into his mind. He recalled: “I was the one who took her to the bus terminal at First Gate, Festac, where they boarded a vehicle owned by AndyLiz Motors Limited. She paid N35,500 for her ticket. The bus left by 7:46 a.m. I called her one hour later to remind her to take her morning medication because she was not feeling well. She had a fever.

“By 1:30 p.m., I called again, and she said they were at Akure. I reminded her to take her afternoon medicine; she assured me she would. I asked if she had eaten the food she took from home. She said she would eat it and that they bought cooked corn. That was the last normal conversation I had with her.

“By 4 p.m., I called again to check how the journey was progressing, but both her lines were unreachable. One phone was switched off, and the other rang intermittently without anyone picking. I kept calling from 4 p.m. till 6 p.m. with no response. By nightfall, I was deeply disturbed.

“Her aunty also called, asking if I had heard from her. I stayed awake all night. I knew something was wrong. I called again at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., and 5 a.m., yet still no response.”

“When I went to AndyLiz Park by 7 a.m. to ask if anything had happened to their vehicle. The ticket clerk could barely speak; she just stared at me. She explained that the bus’s movement was monitored until 8 p.m., but there was no update. Then around 11 p.m., news came that the passengers had been kidnapped in Kabba, Kogi State. Tears ran down my cheeks; I couldn’t hold myself.

“When I went to meet the company’s Director, he told us he had heard about the matter and was on it. He said the Commandant of the Command Secondary School, the Chief of Army Staff, and even the Inspector-General of Police were aware. I asked why none of the families had been contacted, and he said they could not call anyone. I asked what then was the use of having next-of-kin information if it would not be used.

“Before we left the Director’s office, my phone rang. I picked up, and the voice I heard was my wife’s, very faint. She told me they were demanding N100 million as ransom. I wanted to tell her to hold on, but they snatched the phone from her. Then it rang again, and she said the ransom was now N150 million. I could not speak to her, and the phone was switched off. I was helpless.

“I met other husbands of the kidnapped women at the park. We were later told by the transport company that the kidnappers had reduced the amount to N60 million. This was to be shared among the six women, the driver of the bus, who was also kidnapped, a boy of about 17 years old, who is a half-caste, another boy, and about five Ghanaians who were also in the vehicle.

“Altogether, there were 14 passengers and the driver.

“We pleaded with the owner to pay the money first and allow us to reimburse him, because we were desperate to get our wives back. But he said he would pay N15 million, while we shared the rest among ourselves. When we contacted the Ghana High Commission, it said it would not pay ransom.”

Where is mummy? – Children demand

Amid the endless waiting and uncertainty, Mr. Nnamdi Emeribe’s heart aches not only for his missing wife but also for their twin children, who are left to grapple with the fear and absence of their mother. He said they turned nine years old on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, a day that should have been filled with laughter, now overshadowed by an unbearable question.

Our children just turned nine on Wednesday. It was supposed to be a joyful day, but the house was heavy with silence. They kept asking me, over and over, ‘When will mummy come back?’ Each question felt like a knife through my heart. I had no answer. I had nothing to tell them but to hold them close and pray silently that she would return safely,” he stated in tears.

For Mr. Chibuikem Onwuzurike, whose wife, Mrs. Juliana Onyekachi Onwuzuruike, is also still in captivity, he said his wife told him to sell their house and cars to raise money for the ransom because of the excruciating pain from the torture.

According to him, “I spoke with my wife three times before the ransom was made. She was putting pressure for the money to come out. The kidnappers were the ones that called with a different numbers, and they would edit what she would say.

“The first call I heard from her was that they had been kidnapped. The second one was that I should sell anything sellable to come remove her from there so that she wouldn’t die. I told her, ‘You won’t die.’ The third was Friday, November 14, when we were taking the money.

“One of the captors collected the phone and said, ‘Oga, are you sure that you are bringing the money tomorrow?’ I said yes and asked where I should drop it. He said I should take it to the transporter company; they would be the ones to bring the money to them. Since then, I have not heard from her.

Ransom paid

“For my wife’s ransom alone, I paid “5,625,000. Then we all paid N804,000 each again when they insisted we must pay also for a deportee from Dubai who was kidnapped along with them. Andy, the transport owner and negotiator, told us that the kidnappers instructed that no other person or vehicle should bring the money except Andy’s vehicle.

“They also threatened to kill the driver if the money was not complete or if there was counterfeit. We added an additional N3,000 to avoid any shortage. The ransom of N60 million was packed in six bags of N10 million each.”

The return

That Monday, November 17, 2025, on the day the kidnapped women were to return, both Mr. Emeribe and Mr. Onwuzurike, along with a few other families, gathered at the transport park from as early as 12 noon, hoping and praying for the safe return of their wives. The hours crawled by slowly, each tick of the clock deepening their anxiety. When the bus finally arrived around 5 p.m., hearts pounding with anticipation, they rushed to the doors, only to be met with an empty vehicle.

Recalling that shattering moment, Onwuzuruike said, “My wife was not in the vehicle that arrived. ‘Where are our wives? Where are the women?’ I asked. But the driver said only four out of the six women were released to him.”

Hopeless state

One of the most harrowing details that emerged from the interviews was that one of the kidnapped women, in the grip of pain and exhaustion, had been abandoned by the kidnappers because she could no longer walk, complaining of severe knee pain.

The husbands described a sense of helplessness that has only deepened since paying the ransom.

“We gave them everything they asked for, followed every instruction, and yet our wives are still not back,” Mr. Emeribe recounted, his voice heavy with despair.

Days have turned into weeks, and silence has been their constant companion, not only from the kidnappers but also from their employers at the Ministry of Defence and the Army, where the women worked. No call, no message, no attempt to coordinate or reassure the families has come from those who should have been their first line of support, according to the devastated husbands.

To worsen the case, Mr. Emeribe alleged, “They didn’t even give a dime as transport fare for the journey my wife embarked on. We had to source our own money for transport because it was a promotional examination. Even to pay the ransom, nobody from the Ministry of Defence or the Army assisted. We were on our own.”

Since the day they brought back the four women and other passengers, excluding their wives, they said they had not seen Andy, the transporter, adding that “If you call his number, it will not respond. We have gone to the Festac Police Division to report.”

Efforts to get a reaction from the Ministry of Defence failed, as Saturday Vanguard was informed it had not had a spokesman since the last person was redeployed. However, a director in the ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that only four out of the six women had been released, adding that apprehension had heightened over the safety of the remaining two.

The void of communication has left them in a limbo of anxiety and despair, wondering if their loved ones will ever return. (Vanguard)

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