Honestly, we are victims. We were living in our village when we began to hear gunshots. We ran away, and some escaped. But I was unable to escape. They kidnapped some of us, and we spent at least eight months in captivity. They maltreated us woefully and beat us beyond expectations.
They kidnapped ten of us. They kidnapped five people in our town, and before they came to our town, they had kidnapped five people from a neighbouring village. About five million, five hundred thousand naira was paid before we were released.
What I can remember most from my time in captivity is the food scarcity, water shortage, and corporal punishment by very young boys among them. The worst thing was how they slaughtered human beings in front of us, and the maltreatment of the elderly. We were held together with three elderly people who were kidnapped from the neighbouring village. They were found sitting in front of a mosque, where they usually prayed, along with two young men. They assigned small boys to come and maltreat the elderly in front of us, but we could not say anything.
The biggest thing I can remember, which makes me wish I were dead, is the rape of girls and housewives.
Another thing that hurt me was that from Ɗangurumfa Forest, we spent about two days trekking to Bagega Forest. Along the way, there was a village where the people clashed with them. During the clash, one of us was shot in the leg, which resulted in his death, and another was shot in the hand. The wound was not treated, so it began to develop maggots.
We didn’t see the person who died. We are still searching for him. His relatives said they would go to the village to check if anyone saw his corpse.
It’s been five days since I was released.
It was not easy, honestly. Our farmlands and houses were sold, and we sought assistance from wealthy individuals before the money was gathered and given to them to release us. After the money was gathered, it took time to find someone who could go and give it to them. Finally, one person took three million naira. After he gave them the money, they detained him as well, which made us ten people in captivity. Then they demanded an additional two million five hundred thousand naira before they released us.
Our relatives brought the money, but no one wanted to carry it to them, thinking they would also be detained like the first person. We waited for almost two weeks for someone to take the money. They said they were about to kill us if no one brought it.
One of our brother’s wives said she would go and give them the money. After she gave them the money, she was also detained for three days.
We don’t know if they did anything to her because they detained her in a different place. We suspect they raped her.
Think about it: even if we went back to Ɗangurumfa, our farmlands were sold, our houses were demolished, and we have nowhere to go or to cultivate. There is nobody left in the village.
As narrated by: Adamu Umar (Ɗangurumfa, Anka, Zamfara).
This snippet is published as part of the series, What We Lost to the Bandits.
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