Kaduna: How I escaped from kidnappers – Student narrates ugly experience

One of the students kidnapped from Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mustapha Abubakar, has narrated how he escaped from his abductors.

He explained that while they were being moved by their captors, he stealthily hid in a shrub like a snake and escaped back home.

It was reported that the kidnapped children, both males and females, were between the ages of 5 and 18.

In an interview with BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna on Monday, he said the bandits moved the children like a herd of cows, they trekked in the bush; sometimes crawled, adding that they were so thirsty that some of the girls were becoming weak and falling down due to tiredness but were put on motorcycles by the bandits.

He explained that the bandits ordered them to remove one of their clothes and lie down when a plane hovered above them, adding that they crossed a big river, drank the water and continued trekking.

He said the bandits ate leaves and wild fruits as they had nothing to eat.

According to him, “While we were moving, 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.”

He added that he later met an old man who had difficulty walking and asked him the pathway to the main road or any close place so that he could get water to drink.

He said amid exhaustion, he pushed on as nightfall was approaching. After arriving Gayan, a community near theirs, he was able to escape back home.