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How I Escaped Death: Soyinka Details Harrowing Abduction In Romania
Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has recounted how he was abducted and robbed during a recent trip to Bucharest, Romania, where he had travelled to attend the Sibiu International Theatre Festival.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
The world-renowned playwright, who was scheduled to be honoured at the festival, said what was meant to be a cultural celebration turned into a night of horror.
In an interview with TheNEWS/PMNEWS in Lagos, Soyinka explained that the ordeal began shortly after midnight upon his arrival at Bucharest Airport. Having missed the official reception party arranged for him, he boarded what he believed to be a legitimate taxi headed for his hotel.
Instead of driving to the Novotel Hotel, the driver diverted into a deserted, dimly lit area.
“At about 1 a.m., the driver suddenly stopped in an unfamiliar location, produced a POS machine, and demanded that I enter my pin,” Soyinka recounted.
The Nobel laureate said he stalled for nearly half an hour, deliberately inputting incorrect details to buy time.
“I had to do it without seeing the screen, because he kept hiding it. For about 25 to 30 minutes, I deliberately entered the wrong pin, hoping someone—a hotel staff or passerby—would show up. But the place was completely deserted,” he said.
The abductors eventually released him near his hotel after forcing a withdrawal from his account.
“Of course, I don’t like losing money. But for me, that’s the smaller issue. This was more than a personal attack—it was an assault on the community,” he emphasised.
Soyinka also expressed disappointment in the way Romanian authorities handled the case, accusing the police of quietly sweeping the matter aside without providing him with any meaningful updates.
“There were aspects of their handling that deeply troubled me, which I intend to detail in the next edition of my Intervention Series,” he revealed.
Despite the harrowing incident, Soyinka was safely transported to Sibiu the following day, where he went on to participate in the festival as planned.
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