Date: 2021-06-14

General Manager, Kwara United FC, Bashir Badawiy, in this interview with EBENEZER BAJELA, recounts his ordeal after he was held hostage in Nnewi by a former player of the club over owed salaries

What actually transpired after the game against IfeanyiUbah, where you were held hostage?

A man came with some of his group members and held me from behind, asking that I should pay him his money. I was surprised and asked them what the money was for, because I don’t know him. Then he said Kwara United owe him. I was shocked and told him that what he was doing was not the way to go about it even if it was true that the club owed him. I tried to move away from them but they held my hand and seized my phone. Some other guys started hitting me.

Did he give you his name?

Yes. His name is Chidiebere Eze, he was a former goalkeeper of Kwara United.

Can you recount the number of the men who held you hostage? There were about 30 of them and they all dragged me. The chairman of IfeanyiUbah came and talked to them to allow me go. We both asked him for his name, so I could verify if truly he was being owed when I returned to Ilorin. Since we came on board we’'ve been trying to settle the bills that we met on ground.

Did Eze agree to that?

Still he didn't allow me go and before I know what was going on they descended on our driver, collected the coaster and hummer buses keys. The players couldn't gain access to the bus when they came out of the stadium because I was stranded behind. Later, the guys who held me said I would go with them. I asked them where they were taking me to but they wouldn't tell me. They said when we get there I will know. But I was adamant that I was not going to leave the spot because I don't know where they wanted to take me to. I insisted that whatever they wanted to do should be done there. IfeanyiUbah chairman and my coach Abdullahi Biffo were there and they also insisted that I remained there. We even said if the club owed him he should hold on to the club’s property and let me go but he said no.

He kept saying I was the general manager and that I should put a call through to the governor of the state. We later called the (club) chairman who transferred N200,000 to him so they could allow me go. He (Eze) showed me the alert but insisted on getting more because the money transferred to him was small. He asked me or the coach to do a transfer to his account to make it N2m. I pleaded with him but he said until we pay N2m he won’t let me go. I kept explaining that even if the club owed him we couldn’t move around with cash. Without any confirmation he was owed by the club, he received N200,000 but he wanted me to give his men, who were all smoking, money.

Were they armed?

Yes, they were carrying guns.

Were there security agencies on ground to help?

No. We learnt that the policemen were told to dress in mufti. So, the challenge was, 'how do we identify a policeman from a criminal?’ But there was nothing we could do because that is the situation of things in the East.

How were you able to escape from them?

After about two hours or more I didn’t know that my people had gone to mobilise the men of the Nigerian Army, who were on patrol because it was getting dark. We heard sounds of gunshots not too far away from the stadium and everybody ran for safety. That was how I was able to escape. I saw the direction IfeanyiUbah chairman ran and I followed him. I ran to the rooms under the VIP section and quickly locked the door. After about 10 minutes, I heard someone calling out my name and asking me to come out. I listened to the voice very well and realised it was my coach and the team manager. When I came outside I saw the military men and I quickly raised my hands to identify myself. Then they took me inside their vehicle and drove us to a hotel around the area.

What happened thereafter?

We couldn't leave Nnewi because we were looking for the vehicle keys, which they had collected from the driver. It was until about 11pm that the kits manager of IfeanyiUbah, Obinna, brought the keys but how he retrieved them I don’t know. The military men were with us but we couldn’t leave because the buses were inside the stadium.

What role did IfeanyiUbah officials play during this crisis?

To be very honest with you, the club chairman was there all through, he never left my side. But when we all heard the gunshots we ran for safety because we didn't know who was shooting.

What was going through your mind while you were held hostage?

I was scared of course because they were beating me and they held guns. The fact that there were no policemen or security personnel on the ground got me worried because anything could have happened and it was getting dark.

Are you planning on taking any action against Eze?

I am going to charge him to court because I don't know my offence. Even if he was owed by the club was that the way to go about it? Whoever advised him to do that made a big mistake because that's not the way. I wasn't even at Kwara United when he was there. He left in 2016 and I was at Rivers United then. You can imagine, after five years he came back to cause trouble. I guess he was incited because they wanted to make it look like a problem between Kwara and Imo states.