Ogude: I paid N1.3m to my wife’s kidnappers

Fegor Ogude, Super Eagles and Amkar Perm of Russia midfielder, has revealed to TheCable that he freed his wife Maimunat from abduction by paying the sum of N1.3million, despite claims by family sources that the victim was rescued by officials of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Maimunat was abducted on January 4 from her home in Warri, Delta state, and the kidnappers subsequently got in touch with the footballer to demand N30m.

“Well, I paid nothing much for her release. I paid N1.3m though they demanded N30m,” Ogude said, confirming that she was released on Sunday night.

Fegor also said his wife was alright, but they were not taking her state of health for granted, so they were following the normal procedures of ensuring she undergoes medical examination.

“Yes, she is alright but I have to ensure that she is,” he said.

“I have taken her to the hospital for proper medical tests and checkup because the kind of ordeal she must have gone through in the hands of the armed men is nothing to be taken for granted. I have to be sure that she is very okay.

“She was taken to a very bad place, a swampy forest, a dirty place to be kept for almost a week. Imagine what she must have faced during the number of days she was kept there. But I am thanking God that I got her back alive. It is her life that’s the most important thing to me.”

Ogude added that in spite of the unexpected occurrence, he was still a very happy man: “You know that a lot of people will go there and won’t come back alive, so I am happy that she is alright and alive.”