“We survived by chewing leaves and drinking flood water,” abd+cted Akwa Ibom corps members share their ordeal in Zamfara

Graduates from Akwa Ibom State, who were kidn@pped last year in Zamfara while en route to their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) duty in Sokoto State, have recounted their ordeals in captivity.

The eight ex-corps members, abd¥cted on August 17, 2023, alongside their bus driver, were ambushed on the Zamfara highway.

Speaking in Uyo on Thursday, several of the survivors described ongoing health challenges and post-tr@umatic stress from their time in the kidnappers’ den.

Solomon Daniel, who was held the longest and released after over a year of captivity, described how he was transported by motorcycle from Zamfara to Kaduna through bush paths, constantly guarded by over 10 armed men until his eventual rescue by security operatives.

He explained that he was separated from his colleagues for refusing to pay a ransom, as his widowed mother could not afford the amount demanded by their captors.

“I went through h£ll. I survived by chewing leaves and drinking filthy water. I never knew if I would make it out alive.

I was tort+red daily from morning till evening. For three months, I couldn’t defecate or urinate. I thought d€ath was inevitable,” he recounted.

Another victim, Victoria Bassey, shared her harrowing experience: “I never imagined I would survive such horrendous conditions. Even during our menstrual periods, we couldn’t bathe. We were forced to drink flood water to stay alive.”

Etim Bassey explained how the kidnappers, disguised in military uniforms, set up a fake checkpoint in Zamfara, where their bus was intercepted.

“We thought it was a real checkpoint, as the area was blocked with logs and manned by armed men in military attire, who then forced us into the forest,” he said.

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