How I survived gunshot wounds for 24 days inside Boko Haram-controlled territory – Victim

Perhaps what appears to be the ‘mother’ of all the horrifying tales from Michika is that narrated by Kwadda Tizhe, a 35 year old survival who is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Yola.He said on Saturday September 6, there were reports that Boko Haram insurgents were advancing towards Michika town. Based on this […]

Perhaps what appears to be the ‘mother’ of all the horrifying tales from Michika is that narrated by Kwadda Tizhe, a 35 year old survival who is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Yola.
He said on Saturday September 6, there were reports that Boko Haram insurgents were advancing towards Michika town. Based on this Kwada said he, along with his sister, studying at the Nasarawa State University Keffi, put a call across to their parents requesting them to leave for the mountains. While the father, a 75 year old retired army personnel, fled to the mountain, the mother aged 65, was not strong enough to climb the mountains therefore she settled at a village at the foot of the mountain.
 “On  the 7th of September, the insurgents who had invaded Michika met with my sister on the road and asked her to show them our house or they will kill her. She took them there and they asked for my father who had already fled to the mountains. They also met me and we told them our parents were not at home. Then one of the insurgents called their ‘Oga’ on the phone and told him that the father of the house was not at home only the son and daughter. So the oga told them to kill the son (me). And they tied my hands and took him to Jidel, where I was to be killed.
 “They shot at me twice but miraculously the bullet refused to enter so they asked if I took  herbs to prevent bullets penetrating, so that they will use a knife to cut my throat. They brought out a book and asked me to read and because it was written in Arabic I told them I couldn’t read. They then read verses from the book and asked me to turn. When they fired the third bullet to see if they can use their knife to cut my throat the bullet now entered through my back and pierced right ear. Then I fell down.
 “They came towards me to check if I was still breathing so they could use the knife to cut me, but miraculously my breathing ceased at that moment and thinking I was dead, they left. After 48 hours, I regained consciousness and woke up and started crawling like a snake because my hands were tied. I became hungry and thirsty. I spent the next two days walking to find the nearest hospital which ordinarily would have taken just forty five minutes. On reaching there, the  hospital was empty. Then I saw a Bible on one of the tables which I took and started reading the book of Psalms.
 “Immediately after praying, I heard gunshots in the hospital; the insurgents had come to check if they would see people there to kill. I then ran and entered the hospital mortuary where I spent some hours until the noise stopped. Then I came out and crawled to the bush. On my way I saw many dead bodies being scavenged by dogs and pigs. While in the bush, I met someone who was also hiding from the attacks. He assisted in untying my hands and I started eating raw corn, groundnut and maize.
 After spending about 24 days in the bush I managed to find my way back home in Michika. I came through the fence to see if I could see my sister who was left at home. My sister saw me and we ran towards the mountain where my father was hiding. But due to the absence of a hospital to treat myself I decided to take another risk to see if I could get a road that would lead me to a nearby village so that I can go to Yola to meet my other sisters. I eventually got to Yola a few days ago, leaving my mother and father  hiding in the bush. I am now undergoing treatment at a medical facility in Yola and I wish  the government can assist to take me to a better hospital” Tizhe said.
For Sini Vendi, a 32 year old indigene of Muni Ward in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State life has become almost a shattered dream. Vendi who works with a higher institution in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, has said he has lost both parents following the invasion by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents who have reportedly taken over Michika town. Narrating his ordeal to this reporter via telephone, Vendi said: “My father (aged 79) was hypertensive and when the insurgents invaded our area and took over the place, all able-bodied men and youth ran to the mountains for safety. There was no one to take care of him. Consequently he ran out of his hypertensive drugs and died on September 29. Because there were no men around-except the insurgents- it was the women available that mobilized and buried my father. Out of shock my mother also gave up the ghost on Independence Day (October 1)”, Vendi said.
Zira Kwaji had a similar experience having lost his mother aged 78. Kwaji who lives in Jos the Plateau State capital, also narrated her experience via telephone saying “My mother had high blood pressure (HBP) and when the insurgents took over our village (Sengere) village everybody ran and left her alone in the house because she was not strong enough to run. Some aged women in the neighborhood used to come round and see her. Unfortunately, when they came around on September 30, they only found her corpse”, Kwaji said, adding that it was the same women that mobilized and buried the old woman because all the men had ran to the mountains.
For Aisha Abubakar, who is now living in Yola, she had to  brave the insurgents and travel to Michika town to rescue her aged mother, who was also trapped there, following the invasion. Although she was lucky to make it there and evacuate her mother in a wheel barrow, the harrowing experience she went through makes her shudder.
“As I speak to you now ‘Yan Mallam’ (referring to the insurgents), are in total control of Mickika and surrounding villages. Most of them are in plain clothes while others, mostly young men between ages 18-22 wear camouflage trousers. When I got to their checkpoint, they asked me if I valued my life for ventureing into Michika town. Because of my aged mother, I persuaded them to allow me go and luckily, I was not harmed. What I saw upon entering the town almost drove me crazy. By the Wutu bridge, there were a lot of corpses and mangled body parts littered all over the place, including skeletons. With the assistance of two of my female friends with whom we successfully passed through their checks, I managed to convey my aged mother in a wheel barrow from Michika to a nearby village where we got a bike to Baza and eventually returned to Yola”, Aisha said.