Idika General Odey, a Nigerian comedian and radio host who was kidnapped in April 2025, along with his personal assistant, has stated that the kidnappers mistook him for a military officer because of the uniform he and his assistant wore.
In an interview with Channels Television from 2:18, General Odey said he was in captivity for 50 days, which was longer than the other victims, because the kidnappers believed he was an important figure. He said he wore a uniform with the rank ‘General’ printed on it and this gave the kidnappers the impression that he was a military personnel.
Odey said that his personal assistant had on a uniform with the rank of Inspector during the abduction. He said when the kidnappers saw “Inspector” and “General” on their uniforms, they assumed the two of them were security officers. He said because of this, they were severely mistreated for two weeks. He explained that it was only after the kidnappers checked their phones and social media accounts that they realized that both of them were comedians, not military personnel.
In Odey’s words: “They thought I was a military personnel, not only me, with my personal assistant. We were part of the 24 persons who were kidnapped on the 18th of April 2025. His name is Inspector Fun. So when they saw our uniforms, they saw inspector and they saw general they said, ‘Wow, finally we have caught these military men that normally trouble us’. And they gave us drastically drilling, thinking we were military personnel”
