We saw hell in bandits’ captivity, escaped Abuja herders narrate ordeal
Three women abducted from a herders’ hamlet near Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have shared their harrowing ordeal following five days in captivity. Abuja Metro previously reported how kidnappers raided Kungabokun and Paze—two communities in the Byazhin District—in three separate incidents within a single week, abducting 16 residents. […]
We saw hell in bandits’ captivity, escaped Abuja herders narrate ordeal
Three women abducted from a herders’ hamlet near Kubwa in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have shared their harrowing ordeal following five days in captivity.
Abuja Metro previously reported how kidnappers raided Kungabokun and Paze—two communities in the Byazhin District—in three separate incidents within a single week, abducting 16 residents.
While 13 victims were rescued in a joint security operation shortly after the incident, the three women abducted from the herders’ hamlet managed to escape on Thursday to reunite with their families.
The ordeal on the hills
Speaking to our reporter on Sunday, the victims—Laure Adamu, Zainab Shuaibu, and Habiba Usman—revealed they were held between three hills located surprisingly close to their homes.
Laure, a married woman, recounted how the attackers began beating her immediately after rounding up the residents at their home.
The bandits eventually decided to take her, another married woman, and a teenager who had been visiting to assist a nursing mother.
“At one point, I almost collapsed after being beaten with a stick, but I summoned courage to move on as we were being led away from our hamlet,” Laure lamented.
Pointing toward a nearby mountain, she added, “We climbed the first hill and spent the night on the next one. The following day, we settled at a third hill, where we remained for five days.”
Laure stated that the captors beat them throughout their stay. When their wooden sticks broke, the militants resorted to using whips and hard-soled shoes. “They insisted my husband was a wealthy man,” she said. “They later accused our extended family of having a vigilante official among its members, which we denied.”
Starvation, cruelty
The second victim, Zainab Shuaibu, described the gunmen’s cruelty, noting that they were denied the very food they were forced to cook. The bandits had stolen the ingredients from the victims’ own homes.
“They made us carry the stolen food items and cooking pots on our heads during the journey to their hideout,” Zainab stated. “Despite making us cook, they only gave us three spoonfuls of food every 24 hours.”
The escape
Zainab explained that they were guarded by two bandits. Usually, one would leave the den to monitor the surrounding area while the other stayed behind to ensure no one escaped.
“On the day we gained our freedom, both of them decided to leave the location together. They tied our hands behind our backs and warned that if we tried to escape, they would return to our hamlet and kill our husbands,” she said. “But once they were gone, we managed to untie ourselves and fled the location successfully.”
Dalhatu Adamu, the husband of one of the survivors, expressed joy over their safe return.
He noted that the family had reported the abduction to the Byazhin Police Division and briefed the FCT Anti-Kidnapping Team.
“We maintained constant communication with the police until our family members returned home,” he added.
Following their escape, the women were taken to the Primary Health Care Center in Byazhin, where they received medical attention for their injuries and the trauma endured during the five-day standoff.