ABUJA — Michael Adesiyan, a Deputy Director at the National Assembly Commission, has shared a harrowing account of his 32-day captivity in a kidnappers’ den, during which his wife was murdered in his presence.
Adesiyan was abducted alongside his wife, Esther, their son, and two others from their home in the Kubwa area of Abuja on January 26, 2026. He recounted that his wife was killed just one day after their capture, with her body abandoned in a bush near the Itagbajii community in Niger State.
Ordeal in Captivity
Speaking following his rescue, Adesiyan described the kidnappers as extremely young, uneducated men between the ages of 17 and 20. He noted that despite demanding ransoms in the hundreds of millions, his captors were “stark illiterates” who could not even count up to a million.
The Director remained in chains for the duration of his 32-day ordeal. He vividly described the trauma of his wife’s death, stating that the murder was used as a tool to break his will. “They killed my wife before my eyes,” he said. “In that moment, if they had asked for my head, I would have given it.”
A Call for Rehabilitation
In a move that has sparked conversation, Adesiyan suggested a non-combative approach to tackling the kidnapping crisis. He argued that because many of the abductors are young and lack any form of education, the government should consider arresting and rehabilitating them rather than relying solely on lethal force.
“Instead of killing them, the government should arrest, educate, and rehabilitate them,” he stated. “Some of them want to learn trades. They can still be useful.”
Adesiyan was among 60 victims recently rescued by a joint security operation and formally received by the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Defence.
