Our great escape

‘Wa alaikumussalam, wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu, you are welcome Hajiya Bint. Please come in.’ Zubaida said, hugging me.

‘Thank you and welcome back to safety.’ I replied, hugging her back. ‘It’s hard to believe the nightmare is over until one sees you in person. May you never have a repeat of this experience in your life.’ I prayed, looking into her eyes. And a chorus of ‘aamiin’ from the guests in the room reminded me that we were not alone.

‘Amin ya Rabb’ she herself echoed, before leading me through the sitting room towards her bedroom. I turned back and greeted the ladies in the room. I had expected us to sit along with them and talk but my friend obviously had a different plan. I had to tell her my concern.

‘Won’t this crowd of well-wishers feel offended if you abandon them? I’m sure they are all here to commiserate with you over your unfortunate experience.’ I observed.

‘Yes, but they are my sisters, cousins and other relatives. They’ve been here since before I was released and now that I’m back home they seem reluctant to go, as if leaving me will cause the kidnap to recur somehow. Don’t worry about them, they will understand that we need some moments in private.’ She explained, opening the door to her room. I followed her in and sat on the bedroom chair while she sat on the edge of her bed.

‘Alhamdulillah on your safe return’, I repeated. ‘It must have been awful finding yourself in the kidnappers den.’ I added.

‘Oh yes it was Hajiya Bint. It was nothing like what I expected. I mean whenever I hear that someone had been kidnapped and the criminals were looking for ransom, I always think they are being kept in a safe and secure place, since they are to be traded for money. Nothing prepared me for the kind of life we lived in those four days. We lived and slept in an open forest, completely exposed to the elements. The place was hilly and in the rocks we found our beds, the trees up there were our roof. Luckily there were lots of them. And then there is a river not too far from where we were. Whatever we needed to use water for, apart from drinking, they will escort us to the river to fetch. But for drinking they had boxes of bottled water which they gave us. And every morning some of them will go out on their motorcycles and buy food for us. They will come and serve us and insist that we either eat or they will shoot us. So we had to eat.’ Zubaida recalled.

‘But how did it happen? How were they able to kidnap you?’ I asked.

‘Well, we were travelling from Abuja to Kaduna. My husband’s cousin was resuming her studies after spending the holiday with us and I was taking her home so she could prepare and return to campus. Sitting next to me on the back seat, Rahinah was already dozing and I had my head in a newspaper, when I suddenly heard the driver saying ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun’ I brought the newspaper down and my first thought was we were headed for a collision with another vehicle and he couldn’t avert it. But when I saw no such impending doom, I quickly asked him why he was reciting that particular supplication, knowing what it generally implies. And he responded:

‘Look up ahead Madam, we are running straight into a robbery. Can you see those motorcycles blocking the road and the armed men sitting on them? They are armed robbers and they will shoot at us once I stop to turn back.’

At this point there was nothing I could do but repeat the supplication he just did. Rahina too woke up and began to pray, while he began to slow down as we reached the road block. The moment we stopped in front of them, they surrounded the car and asked us to come out. They look menacing with their big guns and covered faces. They asked us to climb the back seats of their motorcycles. Rahina and I said we didn’t know how to ride on them but their leader screamed at us and ordered us to climb them immediately. Some of his men joined our driver in the car and directed him to where they were taking us.

That was when it occurred to me that we were being kidnapped not robbed. They rode with us into the bushes on untarred roads for over an hour before we reached where they held us for four days. After we arrived, they brought the driver to join us and asked for my husband’s phone number. I gave them and they used my phone to call him, knowing that he will pick it. After that they continued to call him and negotiate the ransom. We had no idea how things went until the day we were released. We only knew they had reached a deal when they told us to get ready to go home that morning. But I still couldn’t believe they meant it until I saw us on the road again, in our car, accompanied by those who brought the money.’ She concluded.

‘It must have been traumatic for you all Zubaida, thanks be to Allah it ended sooner than later.’ I said.

‘Yes it was Bint. In fact the worst part for me, apart from sleeping in the open and being without a bath for four days was the total lack of privacy. Even when we want to answer the call of nature, someone will have to follow us with a gun. Of course the person would stand a little distance from us but you can’t forget he was there. Because they believe we were plotting our great escape at any given moment, they never let us alone even in that most private of moments. It was horrible Hajiya Bint, I wouldn’t wish that ordeal on my worst enemy.’ Zubaida declared, her voice very emotional.

‘In sha Allah, you and your family will never experience this again. I pray the same for all of us who haven’t gone through it. As for them, may Almighty Allah expose them to the eyes of the law and have them punished according to their dastardly deeds, amin. Congrats on your return home dear sister.’ I said, reaching out to shake her hand.