Abuja– Some of the lecturers and family members abducted at the University of Abuja senior staff quarters and rescued by the police have recounted their ordeals in the kidnappers’ den.
According to them, they drank garri with dirty water on the first day, while on the second day they were given leftover food, The Punch reported.
Speaking further, they said they trekked for hours and were moved around different areas.
Narrating his experience to the newspaper on Saturday, November 6, a victim, Professor Joseph Obansa, said he never imagined he would go through what he suffered at the hands of his abductors.
He said:
“They made us walk over a long stretch, day and night, and when it’s day time, they blindfolded us. On the first day, they fed us with garri with unclean water.
“The second day, they harvested yams from people’s farms and roasted them. They gave us the yam to eat after they finished eating. We were fed like slaves.
“There was a time when I couldn’t move again after trekking for a long time. They kicked and threatened to waste me if I didn’t stand up. My son had to help me up. It was a very terrible experience; I never trekked continuously for that long in my life.”
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Swapping by Kidnappers
He noted that the abductors called for a swap after some of them (kidnappers) were arrested.
Obansa said:
“They foresaw getting a ransom from us was not feasible. They said they were not interested in the ransom again. They said if they released their friends, they would release us or they would kill us. They freed us around 2am on Friday.”
Joseph’s son narrates his experience
Joseph’s son, John, said he lost hope after the hoodlums demanded a huge ransom.
He said he was happy he went with his father into the forest, adding that he (John) carried him (Joseph) after he was exhausted and the kidnappers threatened to kill him.
“I thought the police had abandoned us, but they made some moves which eventually paid off.”
Another victim
Another victim, Sambo Mohammed, said he could not confirm if a swap was made by the police, but he overheard when negotiations were on.
He said:
“I speak Hausa language well; it gave me the opportunity to interact and I became close to them. For this particular operation that they undertook, there were some people that sponsored and led them to this place.
“They don’t stay in a place; they pushed them from Kaduna and Zamfara states. Because there is no network, they decided to come to this area where network is available.
“They are not from here. I can confirm that, they even told us that they would move us to Zamfara if they did not get their ransom.”
FCT police
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, said neither was a swap made nor ransom paid to rescue the victims.
She said:
“The victims were rescued through the joint efforts of all security operatives in FCT. We engaged the kidnappers in a gun duel and arrested eight.”
UNIABUJA invasion: Full list, identities of kidnapped persons
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that in a recent incident at the University of Abuja, Gwagwalada, some yet to be identified gunmen invaded the institution abducting staff and their family members.
This newspaper had earlier reported that the gunmen had invaded UNIABUJA’s senior staff quarters at about 1 am on Tuesday, October 2.
The gunmen abducted a professor of economics, Joseph Obansa, some of his family members among others.
Gunmen raid staff quarters of FCT school, kidnap vice principal in Abuja
In another report, the vice-principal of Junior Secondary School (JSS), Yebu in Kwali Area Council of Abuja, Mohammed Nuhu, was whisked to an unknown destination by some gunmen.
It was gathered that the assailants stormed the staff quarters of the school with sophisticated guns.
One of the teachers who spoke with newsmen said some of the criminals besieged the quarters, while others scaled the fence into Nuhu’s apartment and kidnapped him.
