Monday, January 6, 2025 - A final year student at the School of Health, Makarfi, in Zaria, Kaduna State, Baraka Abdulkarim, has narrated how the bandits who abducted her k!lled two children for walking slowly.
Baraka was abducted on December 1, 2024 while on her way home from
school.
Speaking to Punch, Baraka narrated
how she survived horrifying conditions in captivity for 13 days.
“I’m 26
years old now. I’m from Oyo State. My dad is from Ogbomoso, but my mum is from
Oyo Town. I can say I’m from Ogbomoso Ayilara, but we stay in Oke-Elerin, and
we always go home,” she explained.
"I
was coming back from school in Zaria and heading to Funtua, which is in Katsina
State. When I got to the park, no taxi was available. So, I decided to take a
car along the road. Another woman, who had six children, also joined me. When
we got to a village called Maraba Maska, the driver stopped, claiming the fuel
had finished and that he would call another car for us to board. We had to
enter the new car.
"There
were four of them; three passengers and the driver. None of them were female,
and they were all Fulani. The seats inside the car were insufficient, and it
was already 6pm. So, the woman and I entered while the children sat on our
laps. Another man also joined us. When we reached Funtua Junction, where I was
supposed to alight, I informed the driver, but he ignored me.
"He
drove past the junction, and we started shouting. That was when the passengers
who had pretended to be fellow travellers brought out their guns. We didn’t
even know they had guns, as they had concealed them. The car continued moving
until we reached a point where there were soldiers
"Before
they brought out their guns, the man sitting beside me asked me to shift a bit.
After I did, they then revealed their guns. I was scared, and the woman, the
children, and I started shouting. They didn’t seem bothered by our cries,
saying that even if the soldiers saw us, they wouldn’t do anything and nobody
would come to our aid. The strange part was seeing an airplane flying over the
forest every morning, and the kidnappers would mockingly say that it wouldn’t
help us
"We
were shouting, but the soldiers didn’t notice anything. They didn’t realise
what was going on until we passed them. Then the kidnappers ordered us to get
out of the car, and we complied. I saw the Fulani men holding AK-47 rifles
"They
asked us to leave, and we began trekking into the forest. We walked from that
night until around 5am the next morning. When we reached their destination,
they instructed us to enter a thatched hut in the middle of the forest. On the
way, they killed two of the woman’s children.
"They
said the children weren’t moving fast enough. So, they shot and killed them
before we reached the hut. They also shot a fat woman in the leg because she
couldn’t walk quickly. They wanted to abandon her, but one of them insisted
they shouldn’t. It seemed they didn’t tolerate slow movement in the forest.
After trekking for more than an hour, we heard gunshots from soldiers. The
kidnappers told us the soldiers would not leave their positions and would only
shoot into the air.
"They tied our hands and legs with big chains and padlocked them.
This was done to all of us, even the children. They chained one hand and one
leg together and padlocked it. I couldn’t sleep until daybreak because the
chains caused severe pain, and I developed scars. We thought we would be given
food and water in the morning, but none came until the night.
"They sarcastically asked if we wanted tea. A man who had been
kidnapped with us said yes, unaware that their “tea” meant a severe beating.
They beat him mercilessly. The kidnappers didn’t stay in the same hut as us.
They had another hut where they lived with their young wives, who were between
12 and 14 years old. The leader of the kidnappers looked about 20 years old.
They were all young
"They
gave us the shaft left after grinding and sieving maize. They also asked us to
cut small roots, place money on them, and burn them with a lighter to make a
fire
"They
placed bundles of N1,000 notes and honey on the roots before lighting them. I’m
unsure if the notes were real. They used this fire to prepare the maize chaff,
which they gave us once a day. They rationed water too, giving us a Fanta
bottle’s quantity to share among three people
"We
were 10 in total; six children and four adults. Inside the hut, we urinated,
and defecated on our bodies. We couldn’t bathe as we were chained. I even
started and finished my menstruation in captivity
The
student said when the kidnappers found out she was menstruating they stopped
going onto the hut.
"Once
I started menstruating, they stopped coming to our hut. The other woman said
menstrual blood could neutralise their charms. I was supposed to menstruate for
three days, but it lasted 10 days due to anxiety.
Baraka
said she didn't clean herself all through her period.
"I
couldn’t. My hands and legs were tied, so the blood dried on my body along with
the urine and faeces. There was no way to clean up.
The
kidnappers contacted her family after four days and initially demanded N20m
ransom before reducing it to N3m.
"After
four days, they asked if I knew my mum’s number. I gave them my maternal
uncle’s number instead, as my mum was in the hospital awaiting surgery. They
took me to a spot with network service, and I called my uncle. He confirmed the
situation after speaking with the kidnappers
"Initially,
they demanded N20m. My uncle said there was no way we could raise that amount.
They reduced it to N3m, two motorcycles, two smartphones with three cameras,
and N50,000 worth of Airtel recharge cards
Baraka said her uncle sent one of his boys to deliver the ransom but the
kidnappers refused to release him after collecting the money.
"You can’t believe that the guy who went with the ransom is still
with them. They didn’t release him after giving them the money, saying we would
have to pay another ransom to set him free. We are running helter-skelter now
to raise the money.
"They asked me if I knew the guy and I said no. The way those
people collect the ransom is that when anybody takes the money to them, they
will ask the person to put the money on the floor and cross over it three
times. After that, they asked the person to pack the sand under his feet and
pour it on the money. After that, the kidnappers would touch the money. So,
they told me that the ransom had been paid and that it was already 9pm, saying
they would release me if I wanted to go that night or stay with them till
daybreak.
"I said they should release me now but they were saying that if
they released me that night, I might fall into the hands of another set of
kidnappers. But I insisted that they should release me that night. So, they
took me on their bike and passed through the forest without the lights on. We
fell off the bike three times. There is a spot on my leg where I got hurt by
the bike’s silencer.
"When we got to the end of the thick bush, they released me at that
spot around 10pm. I was not wearing shoes but they showed me the way and told
me to go straight. That was how I started running until I got to a point far
from where I was left. I saw a house there and I entered. I saw a man with his
children reciting the Quran. As I entered the place, I fell and started crying.
Then the man said he knew what had happened and that I should not say anything
"I used the man’s phone to call my mum and I told her that I had
been released. So, the man told her about my location and she pleaded with him
to take me to my uncle’s place in Yankara very close to that place. When we got
to my uncle’s place, they took me to the hospital immediately to carry out a
general check-up.
"There is a card they always give at the hospital that if they
write bandit on top of it, any medicine or tests to be given and carried out
will be free. They did the tests for me but the problem is that whenever I
scratch my body, rashes will come out. Recently, something came out of my eye.
So, I had to go to the hospital. My eye surgery is in a few days now.
"I was asking myself if I would ever see my mum again. A lot of
things were coming to my mind at that moment. I thought that if my mum cooked
tuwo for us at home, I might decide not to eat it, but I was in captivity
eating the chaff from maize with soup or anything. My dad is late and my other
sister is going for eye surgery.
"I did not even know if my mum wouldn’t develop hypertension
because she only gave birth to the two of us. I was kidnapped and my sister was
in an operation room for her eye surgery and we are not even sure if she’s
going to see again with the eye
“I haven’t
slept properly since. I attend therapy every three days and keep praying for
strength. I’m thankful to God for my life, my family’s support, and the
opportunity to seek my mum’s forgiveness."
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