NGOZI Stephen and Joshua Daniel, two of the 16 kidnap victims freed in Kogi State, have recounted their nearly 48-hour ordeal in captivity, including how their abductors demanded ransoms running into millions of naira and allegedly threatened to sell them to ritualists if the money was not paid.
News Point Nigeria reports that the victims were among commuters abducted on Sunday when armed criminals attacked travellers along the Ojuwo–Ajengo–Memarebo and Ojiwo–Itobe roads in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
The Nigerian military had announced on Tuesday that the victims were rescued on Monday during a joint security operation involving the Nigerian Army, Navy, police and local vigilantes along the Ajaokuta-Anyigba Road in the Ofu area of the state.
Anele said one local hunter was killed while a police officer sustained injuries during the rescue operation.
She said six of the rescued abductees are male adults, six are female, while four are children, adding that they are currently undergoing documentation, medical assessment and reunification with their families.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview at the Kogi State Police Command headquarters after their release, Ngozi said the abductors made her serve as an interpreter because of her fluent Hausa.
She said the kidnappers listed different ransom amounts for the victims, which she was made to communicate to the other abductees.
“So they told me, tell this person N50 million, tell this person N100 million, tell this person N70 million. That was how they were sharing it,” she recalled.
“So I would tell them, okay, this is what they said, this is the amount they said you should bring.
“Even me, they said N70 million. So even when I tried to plead and ask them to reduce it a little, they threatened to beat me up because they were beating people and all that.”
Ngozi, however, said the abductors did not beat her, probably because she was serving as an interpreter, although they seized the victims’ phones and switched them off.
According to her, the kidnappers returned the phones whenever they wanted the victims to call their relatives to demand ransom payments.
“At some point, they were even threatening that if we were not able to provide the money, they would just sell us to ritualists and all that,” the lady narrated.
She said the abductors fled immediately they heard gunshots from the security operatives, leaving behind the bag containing the phones and laptops they had collected from the victims.
“We were able to get back our phones. We were also able to get back the laptops. Thank God. We are now safe,” she said.
On his part, Daniel said he sustained an injury while trying to escape from the kidnappers.
He narrated that shortly after they were captured, he spotted an opening and ran into a nearby bush, but one of the abductors chased after him and attempted to cut him with a knife.
Daniel said he raised his hand to protect himself, resulting in a cut to his vein.
“That is when the cutlass landed here and cut my vein. So, I was bleeding throughout the night,” he said.
“But the bleeding stopped this morning when I got some herbs and put them on the wound before the bleeding stopped.”
Daniel said one of the abductors identified himself as Peter, adding that the captors spoke Igala, Fulani and Hausa so that the victims would not understand their conversations.
He expressed gratitude to the security operatives for rescuing them but also expressed sadness over the death of the local hunter during the operation, commiserating with the hunter’s family.
Daniel further said that despite the injury to his hand, he helped to carry the injured police officer from the place where they were held captive to the main road, where they were eventually evacuated.
“Even when I had this cut on my hand, I helped in carrying the officer from where we were held captive to the main road where we entered the car. My hand was swelling,” he added.