My Family Paid N8m Ransom, After Spending 50 Days In Kidnappers Camp.. Comedian

Popular comedian Odey Mathias, widely known as General Odey, has recounted his harrowing experience after spending nearly 50 days in the hands of kidnappers.

Speaking on Channels TV’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Odey described the ordeal as “horrible and unimaginable,” stressing that he would not wish it on even his worst enemy.

The comedian, along with 23 others, was abducted on April 18, 2025, while travelling to Calabar via the Oron/Uyo waterways. He explained that the kidnappers fired gunshots and deliberately rammed their boat into his before transferring the passengers to another vessel, which took them to an unknown location over a 40-minute journey.

“We were beaten, starved, and warned never to look at their faces. Anytime we tried, they hit us,” Odey recounted.

He said the captives were kept in a creek-like settlement where the kidnappers lived with their families. The abductors frequently played loud music, fired shots in the air, and only moved the hostages to areas with phone signals when making ransom demands.

Odey noted that he was allowed very limited communication with his family, speaking to his wife only twice—one week after the abduction and on the day of his release. He revealed that his family collaborated with a security agency to secure his freedom. After an initial ransom payment of over ₦3 million, the kidnappers demanded additional funds, ultimately totaling around ₦8 million before he was released.