Rebecca John Ihotu, a player in the Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) who was abducted in Edo State last week, has regained her freedom after her family paid a ransom of N1.5 million, Nigeriasoccernet.com gathered.
A relative of the former Oyo State Pacesetter Queens Football Club player, Blessing Ojima, confirmed the development on Friday, explaining that the footballer was released late Thursday night following negotiations with her abductors.
Ihotu was kidnapped on February 27 in Okada, Edo State, alongside two other passengers, when armed men reportedly attacked the vehicle they were travelling in. The kidnappers initially demanded N20 million from the family before later reducing the ransom to N10 million.
According to Ojima, the eventual payment of N1.5 million secured the footballer’s release. Although she has not yet met Ihotu physically, she said they spoke over the phone after she regained her freedom.
“She is out. We paid N1.5 million,” Ojima said.
Ojima further explained that the ransom arrangement involved the father of another victim who had been abducted during the same incident. The kidnappers reportedly released Ihotu to the man and gave him Ojima’s contact details so they could coordinate the payment.
“On Wednesday, the father of one of the other passengers who was kidnapped with Becky called me,” Ojima said. “The kidnappers gave him my number so we could discuss how the ransom money would reach them. They insisted on cash rather than a bank transfer.”
She revealed that the family processed the payment through more than seven Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in Benue State, sending the money in instalments to the man, who then withdrew the funds and delivered the cash to the kidnappers.
“I was initially afraid because I didn’t know him,” she explained. “I first sent N200,000, and he called to confirm he had received it. That gave me some confidence that he could be trusted, and he continued to confirm each transfer.”
Ojima said she received confirmation of Ihotu’s release shortly after midnight on Thursday.
“Around 12 midnight, he called to say they had released her to him. He said he would take them into town and update me,” she added.
By early Friday morning, Ojima disclosed that the group — which included Ihotu, the man’s daughter and another victim believed to be a teenage boy — was travelling through Ore on their way to Onitsha.
She also revealed that Ihotu later confirmed she was safe and had begun efforts to contact the driver of the vehicle that was attacked to recover her belongings.
The incident once again highlights the growing security concerns on Nigerian highways, where kidnappings for ransom continue to pose serious threats to travellers.