BREAKING: Wole Soyinka Abducted and Robbed During International Festival Visit

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has narrated how he was abducted and robbed during a visit to Bucharest, Romania.

The world-renowned playwright had traveled to Bucharest for the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, one of the largest performing arts gatherings in the world, where he was scheduled to participate.

According to Soyinka, he arrived in Bucharest shortly after midnight and boarded what appeared to be an official taxi from the airport en route to his booked accommodation at Novotel Hotel.

Speaking to TheNews in Lagos, Soyinka explained that during the trip, the driver suddenly diverted to a remote and poorly lit area.

“At nearly 1 a.m., the driver stopped in an unfamiliar place and produced a POS machine, insisting I enter my pin,” Soyinka recounted. “I had to input it without seeing the screen because he kept concealing it. For about 25 to 30 minutes, I deliberately entered the wrong pin, stalling for time, hoping someone — perhaps from the hotel or even a passerby — would show up. But the place was completely deserted.”

He described the tense standoff that followed as the driver kept pressing him for the pin. Eventually, the driver abandoned him near the hotel after robbing him of money.

“Not that I enjoy losing money. But for me, it’s much smaller than the bigger issue. It’s not just an attack on me personally; it’s an assault on the community,” Soyinka said.