Baraka Abdulkarim, an undergraduate student who was recently freed after being held for 13 days in a kidnappers’ camp in Katsina, has said that she and the nine others abducted tried to alert the attention of the Nigerian Army to their plight but they were ignored.
The undergraduate told The Punch that after they realised they had been abducted after passing Funtua Junction in Katsina, they began to shout to alert the soldiers, but they didn’t notice anything was happening.
Abdulkarim said that the kidnappers even told them that even if the soldiers had seen them, they wouldn’t be able to rescue them.
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She also revealed that an aeroplane hovered around the camp of the kidnappers, where they were kept every morning, but no rescue by the authorities came until her family paid a ransom that included N3 million, two motorcycles, two smartphones and other items.
“The abductors didn’t seem bothered by our cries, saying that even if the soldiers saw us, they wouldn’t do anything and nobody would come to our aid,” Abdulkarim was quoted saying.
“The strange part was seeing an airplane flying over the forest every morning, and the kidnappers would mockingly say that it wouldn’t help us.
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“We were shouting, but the soldiers didn’t notice anything. They didn’t realise what was going on until we passed them. Then the kidnappers ordered us to get out of the car, and we complied. I saw the Fulani men holding AK-47 rifles.”
Abdulkarim added that her abductors were young men in their twenties who had teenage wives. She said they served them only maize chaff throughout her time in captivity.
President Bola Tinubu claimed on December 23 that insecurity had reduced on Nigerian roads since he assumed office.
Abductions and terror attacks have, however, persisted, crossing into the new year.
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