Wole Soyinka recounts abduction, robbery in Romania
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has recounted a harrowing experience of being abducted and robbed in Bucharest, Romania, during a recent visit to attend the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS).
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TheNEWS/PMNEWS in Lagos, Soyinka said the incident occurred shortly after his midnight arrival in Bucharest, where he was invited as Guest of Honour to receive a star on the Walk of Fame award. The visit was at the invitation of the President of UNESCO’s General Assembly, Amb. Simona-Mirela Miculescu.
Soyinka explained that he missed the party assigned to pick him up at the airport. “I was to stay overnight in Bucharest and then take a five-mile drive to Sibiu. Somehow, we missed each other at the airport. As the terminal emptied, I headed for the taxi ride,” he said.
The Nobel Laureate said the official taxi driver, later revealed to be part of a criminal gang, diverted him to a deserted location instead of his hotel. There, he was forced to reveal his PIN and robbed through a POS machine. Soyinka described the ordeal as a tense 25 to 30-minute struggle, during which he deliberately entered the wrong PIN to buy time.
“I didn’t realize it wasn’t a hotel until I finally got down. I kept hoping someone would appear—a hotel worker, a passerby—but the place was completely empty,” Soyinka recounted. He described the situation as surreal, with moments approaching violence.
After the incident, Soyinka was eventually taken to his hotel and later transported to Sibiu. He said festival organizers and the police tried to manage the situation, though he never learned what became of the criminal.
Reflecting on the incident, Soyinka emphasized that his concern goes beyond personal loss. “For me, it was not just about the money. The real issue is crime and punishment, and its impact on the community. There was clearly a network operating under the guise of an official taxi,” he noted.
Soyinka added that he has documented the ordeal in the upcoming edition of his Intervention Series, calling attention to broader concerns about criminal networks targeting unsuspecting visitors.
