Rescued Borno Kidnap Victims Describe Harsh Conditions While In Captivity

Some of the recently freed kidnap victims who spent three months in captivity in Borno State have described the unthinkable conditions under which they were held by bandits.

Men, women and children from Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area, abducted by armed terrorists on March 4, regained their freedom on June 6.

One of the victims, Halima Musa, said the captives had to prepare their own meals.

“We ate only guinea corn once a day. If you eat around 2 pm, till the next day. Sometimes, no soup is provided. We are the ones cooking the food. They give us what to cook,” she said.

She said the captives slept on bare ground in the mountains throughout their ordeal.

Another victim, Khadijat, said their release happened without any exchange of gunfire or direct contact with security forces.

According to her, “We met other people there who were kidnapped before us. Eleven of them, they have spent seven months there. They were abducted from a river where they went to farm fish. But all of us came out together.”

Meanwhile, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum visited the freed victims on Monday and announced a rehabilitation programme for the Ngoshe community.

The governor thanked President Bola Tinubu and security agencies for their efforts in securing the release of the abductees.

He stated that around 434 abducted persons had been released in phases, with about 360 returning two days earlier.

Zulum also disclosed that the state government had released millions of naira to rebuild Ngoshe and was working with the military to facilitate the safe return of residents willing to go back home.