A comedian, Odey Mathias, popularly known as General Odey, has narrated how he spent 50 days in the custody of kidnappers after he was abducted on the Oron/Uyo waterways while travelling to Calabar, Cross River State.
Odey, who spoke on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Thursday, monitored by Mega Icon Magazine, described the experience as “horrible and unimaginable.”
The comedian said he was kidnapped on April 18, 2025, alongside 23 other passengers when armed men attacked their boat.
“They fired gunshots, and a large boat collided with ours. They transferred us into another boat and drove us for about 40 minutes to an unknown location,” he said.
While others kidnapped with him were released earlier, Odey said his ordeal lasted longer because of the military uniform he wore at the time of the attack.
“We were beaten, starved, and prohibited from looking at their faces. If you mistakenly looked, you would be hit,” he recounted.
Odey said the hideout resembled a creek community where the abductors lived with their families. “They played loud music, shot into the air, and sometimes moved us to areas where network service was available to contact our families for ransom,” he added.
The comedian noted that he was only allowed to speak with his wife twice throughout his captivity — a week after the incident and on the day of his release.
According to him, his family paid ransom in two installments amounting to about N8m.
“The first installment was over N3m, but when it was paid, they refused to release me. They demanded more. My family eventually paid up to N8m before I was freed,” he said.
Odey also disclosed that the kidnappers became suspicious after discovering that his family was working with a security agency to track them, which prompted the demand for additional payment.
