They Treated Us Like Cows Grazing In The Bush –Kidnap Victim

A kidnap victim has narrated their sordid experiences in the hands of their abductors, declaring: “They treated us like cows grazing in the bush”..

Mustapha Abubakar , a kidnap victim from and pupil of Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, is able to narrate his ordeal because he was able to escape from his abductors.

He stated this while narrating his and the ordeal of other victims to the BBC Hause service online.

He was among over 280 pupils and teachers of Government Secondary School and LEA primary school at Kuriga, Kaduna State abducted by bandits on Thursday, March 7, 2024.

That incident forced a relocation of the secondary school to the primary school but its nightmare lingers in the psyche of the kidnap victim.

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“We trekked in the bush; sometimes we crawled. We were so thirsty that some of the girls were becoming weak and falling due to tiredness. The bandits were lifting them and putting some of them on motorcycles.

“We reached a big river, where we drank water and continued trekking. There was a plane that hovered above us. That was when the bandits ordered us to remove one of our clothes and lie down.

“The bandits themselves are tired, they didn’t have anything to eat but they are eating grass and rope in the forest, they didn’t give us anything to eat.

“While we were trekking, I noticed a shrub that was brown in colour, like my trouser. I hid inside and crawled like a snake. I was there until it was completely silent before I came out and headed to the bush.”

According to him, it was a long trek through bushes that left terrible scares on them but somehow, he engaged his number six and was able to escape.

One of the things that made his escape possible, he narrated, was an old man he met.

Insecurity: Over 380 people kidnapped in Nigeria in 34 days

READ ALSO: Nigerians Fire Minister Over N50m Ransom For Kidnappers

According to the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, over 380 persons were kidnapped across Nigeria between December 1, 2023, and January 3, 2024.

It said that victims were taken hostage at various events that happened during the last month of 2023 and the first week of the New Year.

Affected states include Anambra, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, FCT, Kaduna, Kastina, Kogi, Lagos, Nassarawa, Ogun, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara.