Wole Soyinka survives abduction and robbery by a fake taxi driver in Bucharest ahead of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival.
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has given an account of how he was abducted and nearly robbed shortly after arriving in Bucharest, Romania, for the prestigious Sibiu International Theatre Festival.
The 90-year-old playwright said In an interview that seemingly routine taxi ride from the airport turned into a frightening experience.
Soyinka had landed in Bucharest around 12:10 a.m. and, after missing his hosts at the airport, boarded what appeared to be an official taxi to his hotel.
Instead of heading to the Novotel Hotel, the driver drove off to a deserted part of the city, where he allegedly tried to extort the writer.
According to the professor, the man pulled out a POS machine and repeatedly demanded his bank details.
“I realised something was wrong when we stopped in a dark, isolated place instead of the hotel,” Soyinka said. “It became a battle of wills that lasted nearly half an hour.”He further stated.
Soyinka deliberately entered the wrong PIN several times to stall for time, but no help arrived.
Eventually, he was abandoned at the location before finding his way to the hotel and later continuing on to Sibiu for the festival.
Calling the incident “an abduction in every sense,” Soyinka urged international travellers to be cautious, noting that what looked like an official taxi turned out to be a trap.
Despite the terrible scenario, he went on to participate fully in the festival, one of Europe’s largest cultural gatherings.
