Author: The Nation

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS ) has said the average price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) soared by 215.30 per cent in one year.

In its document titled: “Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel ) Price Watch (October 2022,” NBS said from N254.07 per litre in October 2021, it increased to N801.09 per litre in October 2022.

“The average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers in October 2022 was N801.09 per litre, an increase of 215.30% from N254.07 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of the previous year,” it said.

The data also said on a month-on-month basis, this increased by 1.42 percent from N789.90 per litre reported in September 2022.

On state profile analysis, NBS noted that the highest average price of the product in October 2022 was recorded in Ebonyi with N858.33, followed by Bauchi with N857.50, and Plateau with N856.25.

On the other hand, according to the Bureau, the lowest price was recorded in Akwa Ibom with N748.18 followed by Benue with N750.00 and Edo with N765.91. Furthermore, analysis by zone showed that the North-Central had the highest price with N818.41, while the South-South recorded the lowest price with N774.96.

In a similar document on the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS ) petrol, the NBS said the average retail price paid by consumers for petrol for October 2022 was N195.29, indicating a 17.93% increase when compared to the value recorded in October 2021 (N165.60).

The NBS added that likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. September 2022), the average retail price increased by 1.90% from N191.65.

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On State profile analysis, the dataa noted that Kebbi state had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) with N211.00, followed by Kano with N210.14 and Gombe with N210.00.

The Bureau said on the other hand, Sokoto had the lowest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) with N185.00, followed by Taraba with N185.42 and Abia with N186.56.

It said analysis by zone showed that the North-West recorded the highest average retail price in October 2022 with N198.28, while the South-West had the lowest with N192.42.

A Lagos- based businessman, Adefemi Opeyemi Sodiq, has appealed to authorities to save his life and immediate family members from regular threats by strange persons who have twice abducted him.

Speaking with newsmen, the 42 year old businessman said he has not been able to live in one location for too long with his family following visits by strange people he believes were behind his abduction twice within two months.

According to him, he had to flee his known address with his wife and children after they were kidnapped for the second time by the same group and paid heavy ransom before they were released.

He said he was first abducted alone and his friends paid for his release. But his captors went back two weeks later and kidnapped him, his wife and three children.

Sodiq claimed that the second abduction took them about three months to be released.

He said that he had to run away from his home while his wife and children fled elsewhere when he noticed that members of the group that kidnapped them were still after them for reasons he doesn’t understand.

Sodiq said unless help comes fast, the harm he is facing with members of his family is very serious.

His words: “I was travelling from Sango in Ogun State, Nigeria. While on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, I was kidnapped by about twelve of these young men. I was in captivity for many days. We trekked inside the forest for about 70 kilometers and I was being tortured as we walked in the forest.

“I was with my abductors for over 30 days. I was asked for my home address and I gave it to them. I never knew they were going to visit my house. They had actually asked me to give them the phone numbers of persons they could make a contact with for ransom. I gave them the numbers of some of my friends whom I knew could be of help”.

“But I think they were not satisfied with the responses they were getting and at one point, they threatened to shoot me dead and dump my body in the bush if I didn’t find a way to let my friends know that I was in danger and convince them to pay”.

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“I was given the phone and spoke to a few of my friends and begged them to please assist me to raise some money. My abductors actually demanded N25 million. But I begged them that I am a young man trying to survive.

“They didn’t agree at first. They started beating me one after the other at that point. When they realised that I was telling the truth and there was no way they could sieve that huge sum out of me, they agreed to take whatever my friends could raise. I noticed that God was interfering in my case; He was touching their hearts”.

“All these while, I never knew they had actually visited my house. It was one of those sent there that divulged it while they were torturing me. Luckily, my wife and children were not at home. Their plan was to abduct my wife and children too. Thank God, my friends raised money and I was released”.

“Surprisingly, these same people came to my house two weeks later and abducted me with my wife, Taibat Bukola and our three children namely Amidat Adewunmi, AlAmeen Owolabi and Aliyat Irorunola. This time we were with them in the bush for so long. We were able to raise money again to meet their demand”.

“After the second abduction, I noticed that strange faces now frequented my house vicinity. This was not the case before I was first abducted. From then on, my family became scared of the environment. I then understood that the people behind my abduction were trying to make it a regular affair”.

” So I relocated my family to a friends’ house and I was moving from one friend’s house to another because I noticed that there was more to my abduction saga than the ordinary. Now, my family and I could not stay in one place for too long.”