How I Was Kidnapped, Robbed in Romania – Wole Soyinka Recounts

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has revealed a harrowing encounter in Romania, where he was abducted and robbed shortly after arriving in Bucharest for a major international theatre event.

Soyinka, who travelled to the country for the Sibiu International Theatre Festival (FITS), recounted the ordeal in an interview, describing how an innocent taxi ride turned into a frightening episode.

The playwright said he landed in Bucharest around 12:10 a.m., eager to join one of the world’s most prestigious performing arts festivals, which draws thousands of artists and enthusiasts annually. 

But after missing his hosts at the airport, he opted to board what looked like an official taxi to his hotel.

According to him, that decision quickly spiralled into danger. 

Instead of heading to the Novotel Hotel as expected, the driver veered off to a deserted part of the city. 

There, Soyinka said, he was forced into a tense standoff as the man demanded his bank details.

“I realised something was wrong when we stopped in a dark, isolated place instead of the hotel,” Soyinka explained. 

“The driver pulled out a POS machine and kept pushing me to enter my PIN. It became a battle of wills that lasted nearly half an hour.”

The 90-year-old Nobel Laureate said he deliberately entered the wrong pin multiple times, hoping someone might appear and disrupt the situation. 

But the area was empty, leaving him to endure the ordeal alone.

“It was surreal and unsettling,” he said. “I kept thinking, why here? Was this a setup, a gang territory? At that moment, so many scenarios ran through my mind.”

Eventually, Soyinka was abandoned at the location, shaken but unharmed. 

He later managed to reach his hotel before being transported to Sibiu, where the festival was taking place.

The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, often regarded as one of Europe’s most important cultural gatherings, went ahead as planned, with Soyinka participating despite the ordeal.

While recounting the experience, he urged international travellers to exercise caution, noting that what appeared to be an official taxi turned out to be a trap.

“This was not just robbery; it was an abduction in every sense,” he said. “I was fortunate to come out of it alive.”