Ngozi Stephen and Joshua Daniel, two of the 16 victims recently rescued from kidnappers in Kogi State, have recounted their ordeal in captivity.
The victims were abducted on Sunday when armed men attacked commuters along the Ojuwo Ajengo Memarebo and Ojiwo Itobe roads in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
They were rescued on Monday during a joint operation involving the Nigerian Army, Navy, police and local vigilantes along the Ajaokuta-Anyigba road.
According to the military, one local hunter was killed during the operation, while a police officer sustained injuries.
The rescued victims comprised six adult men, six adult women and four children. They were subsequently taken through documentation and medical assessment before being reunited with their families.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Kogi State Police Command headquarters, Ngozi said the kidnappers made her serve as an interpreter because she speaks Hausa fluently.
She said the abductors demanded different ransom amounts from the victims and instructed her to communicate the demands.
“So they told me, tell this person N50 million, tell this person N100 million, tell this person N70 million. That was how they were sharing it,” she recalled.
Ngozi said she was also asked to pay N70 million and attempted to negotiate a reduction, but the kidnappers threatened her with violence.
She said the abductors did not physically assault her, possibly because of her role as an interpreter, but collected the victims’ phones and switched them off.
According to her, the kidnappers only returned the phones when they wanted the victims to contact relatives and demand ransom payments.
“At some point, they were even threatening that if we were not able to provide the money, they would just sell us to ritualists and all that,” she said.
Ngozi said the kidnappers fled after hearing gunshots from the security operatives, leaving behind bags containing phones and laptops taken from the victims.
“We were able to get back our phones. We were also able to get back the laptops. Thank God. We are now safe,” she said.
Daniel, another rescued victim, said he sustained a serious injury while attempting to escape shortly after the abduction.
He said he noticed an opening and ran towards a nearby bush, but one of the kidnappers pursued him and tried to attack him with a knife.
Daniel said he raised his hand to protect himself, resulting in a deep cut.
“That is when the cutlass landed here and cut my vein. So, I was bleeding throughout the night,” he said.
He said the bleeding eventually stopped after he applied herbs to the wound.
Daniel identified one of the abductors as Peter and said the kidnappers communicated in Igala, Fulani and Hausa, apparently to prevent the victims from understanding their conversations.
He expressed gratitude to the security personnel involved in the rescue operation but mourned the death of the local hunter who was killed during the operation.
Daniel also said he helped evacuate the injured police officer despite his own injury.
“Even when I had this cut on my hand, I helped in carrying the officer from where we were held captive to the main road where we entered the car. My hand was swelling,” he added. – Arise.
