For 12 days, a resident of Kaduna (names withheld) abducted by bandits along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway received beatings and watched as those with no means of reaching their relatives were killed. He speaks to Daily Trust on coming in contact with ABU Professor Ibrahim Bako abducted a month ago (reportedly released, too) following the weekend’s killing of one Kachalla, or Nakachalla, the leader of the bandits. Excerpts:

Briefly narrate how you were abducted?

I will first say Innalillahi wa ina ilaihi rajiun (from Allah we come and to Him we shall return). I was travelling alone in my car along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road and just after Buruku, near a junction called Rumanan Gwari, armed men opened fire on my car forcing me to stop. They immediately surrounded the car; they were well-armed. As I came out, they started beating me. I went on my knees, they dragged me into the forest along with other abducted travellers. We walked for about three kilometres then spotted their motorcycles. We moved for over one hour on motorcycles and arrived at a hilly area which is their camp and they kept us there chained.

They beat us mercilessly during interrogation; they wanted to know what properties we possessed. I did my best to explain who I was and what I had. They told us the beating was not because we had offended them but because they wanted us to know they were desperate to get money.

How many bandits were in the camp?

There were many of them, over 20; some old and some young. They have an administration and there is a hierarchy. I introduced myself; told them where I lived and what I owned and they told me that it was important for me to tell my relatives to sell my properties and bring N50 million to them. They assured me that I would be released the very day the money was paid to them. So, I did my best to tell my relatives to sell my properties and negotiation started. The ransom was reduced to N20 million and reduced again. But because the money was not raised immediately, we were beaten daily.

I stayed for 12 days before I was freed. What puzzled me was the fact that during my stay, the bandits told us that they wanted better lives and did not choose to be bandits. They told us that many of their members have been killed and their properties destroyed and they have dependents, so they decided to join banditry. They said if the government wanted peace, it must realize that they are also Nigerians and the government and security agents should negotiate with them. They said as long as government continued to call them bandits and viewed them with contempt, they would also act like bandits.

Was anyone killed while you were in captivity?

Of course, they killed people to show us they meant business. The first person they killed when we arrived at the camp was an elderly man who didn’t have a phone and because of that, there was no means of contacting his relatives, therefore, they said he was useless to them and couldn’t feed him for free. Their leader asked that he be killed. They shot him dead.

They asked three of us to move the corpse afar and dump it for animals to feed on. A few days later, they couldn’t locate another man’s phone even though he said they took it from him during the abduction. He was not able to speak with his relatives but he later produced the number of a relative who offered N100,000 to the bandits. They rejected it and said it was insulting, so he was killed.

A few days later some of us were led into the forest to get firewood. We noticed the remains of the people killed had been devoured by animals. The bandits also told us that anyone who attempted anything stupid will meet the same fate.

How were you eventually released?

From N50 million, the negotiations came down to N4 million which my relatives were able to raise. On the day I was to be released, the bandits told me they were going to collect the ransom money and that if it was complete, I would be released. Hours later, I was told to remove one of my clothes because I was wearing two. They tore it with a sword and used one part to cover my face. They started two motorcycles and I was sandwiched between two of the bandits on one of them. We rode through the forest for hours. There were times we got to rivers and I will come down and one of the bandits would guide me across the river. While passing through villages, they would make sure I did not alert the villagers.

We moved like that for hours until we arrived at our destination where they removed the covering on my face and asked if I recognized the person who brought the ransom. I said I did, so they asked me to follow him and wished us a safe journey.

Did you recognise where they dropped you off?  

It was around Sabon Birni, in the forest around Rigachikun area of Kaduna. It was along the road that will take you to Dogon Dawa.

Did your relatives sell your properties to raise the ransom money?

I didn’t have the money the bandits demanded but I had two houses in the village and so one of them was sold. The villagers were reluctant to buy it because they didn’t want to be looked upon as benefiting from another person’s misfortune. The house was sold for less than N1 million, most of the money for the ransom came from contributions from relatives.

How long have you been home?

I came back home on Saturday, December 19, 2020.

What happened to the car you abandoned along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road?

At the time I was abducted, I asked them whether to go with my keys and they said whichever I wanted, but already, I had stepped out of the car with the keys so I left with them. The leader of the bandits, called Nakachalla later took the keys from me and asked me where the car was and I told him it was where we had left it.

On the day I was to be released, I asked them for the keys but they told me that they were in Nakachalla’s possession and he had travelled. I was later shown the car parked at Buruku police station along Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Highway.

How many other victims did you leave in the camp?

I left three people but I’m not sure if two of them will survive. They said they were from a village called Badarawa around Shinkafi in Zamfara State. There is no network in their village and so they would call a relative in Kano or Lagos who will then call someone close to their village and ask them to get a relative to a reception area to speak with them.

Initially, the bandits had negotiated N300,000 for the two of them and later agreed they could pay N200,000 but in the end, the relatives said they could only pay N100,000. At the time I was released, the murmuring among the bandits was that they were waiting for Nakachalla to return and kill them.

This Nakachalla, how would you describe him?

He was a young man, not more than 35 years and the leader there. That is all I can say.

What were you fed during your captivity?

For the 12 days, we ate spaghetti twice a day. There was nothing other than that. We were given little water to drink but not enough for ablution. We were not allowed to say our five daily prayers, we only prayed in our hearts.

Where their women bandits among them?

We found two female victims and we were abducted with one female but they didn’t beat the women, they did the cooking. There were no women among the bandits but there were armed kids between 10 and 15 years who would look at us with disgust.

Did you recognize anyone among the other victims?

The ABU professor that was abducted was there. They had requested N10 million as ransom but N2 million was paid. They insisted that the N2 million paid was for the food they fed him and for the bullets they wasted while exchanging fire with security agents during his abduction. They are still waiting for N8 million to release him. He told me he had no means of getting that money and asked me to go to the institution and beg them to get a loan even if its salary advance.

What was his condition like?

Not too good, he was there before me and so you can imagine the condition of a man who had not taken his bath for a month, and slept on the ground. He was beaten often and had dried blood all over him. I noticed his left hand was not fully functional and this is someone who is more than 60 years old. I hope government will do something about him. They should get him out of that place.

What advice would you want to give to government?

Based on my observation, I don’t think government has any wisdom or strategy to end this thing and so for me, the best way is to reach out to these people and negotiate so that people in the remote villages can have peace. The bandits around Birnin Gwari have made it clear that they will not leave the area, anyone who is travelling to Birnin Gwari from Kaduna or going to Kaduna from Birnin Gwari is in danger. Some people may find an alternative route but we don’t have any.

Mixed reactions have continued to trail Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah’s Christmas message in which he said the country was on the verge of becoming a failed state under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, in the message, accused President Buhari of nepotism, saying there could have been a coup if a southerner was the president and had done a quarter of what the president had done.

The Presidency had described Kukah’s statement as an attempt to stoke the embers of hatred, sectarian strife and national disunity while the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) termed it as “reckless, inflammatory and unguarded.”

Why Kukah called for a coup – MURIC

MURIC’s Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, in a statement, yesterday, accused Kukah of referring to Islam as a violent religion and also described him as a first-class blackmailer.

“We are shocked to our marrows by the vitriolic attack launched by Kukah against Islam as a religion. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese referred to Islam as a violent religion. He also surreptitiously called for a coup against a democratically elected government of President Muhammadu Buhari whom he falsely accused of nepotism.

“This is a most irresponsible pronouncement and we will not allow it to go unchallenged. Kukah’s statement is reckless, inflammatory and unguarded. It is the most egregious, luciferous, serpentine and diabolical statement of the year 2020. Kukah is ululating from the wrong side of the pulpit.

“Kukah is in the habit of demonizing and de-marketing any president who happens to be a Muslim. In particular, we are most disappointed that such a heavily prejudiced and explosive statement is coming from the secretary of Nigeria’s Peace Committee. His behaviour is consistently inconsistent with his status,” Akintola said.

MURIC added that: “Kukah lives in the heart of Islam and he has never been attacked. Kukah also knows how generous and charitable the people of Sokoto have been to him. This kind of allegation should have come from someone else, from somewhere else. Kukah has bitten the finger that fed him.

“We can understand Kukah’s frustration. Import duty waivers on every imported good, including private jets, are no longer available. Neither are billion naira contracts at the snap of a finger. A new Sheriff is in town. This is why Kukah has turned to a blackmailer nulli secundus.

“It is unimaginable that such venom is being emitted during Christmas when all are expected to give love. Nigerians can see what is happening. We send messages of love to Bishop Kukah at Christmas. He responds with pent-up anger, contempt and hate-filled emotion. Is this proper?”

In the same vein, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has faulted Kukah’s Christmas message. Spokesperson of the group, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said: “The latest attempt by Kukah to destroy the quest for national integration by instigating violence through exploiting cleavages of religious nature to cause disharmony and facilitate the further emasculation of northern Nigerian Muslims is of utmost concern. “It also furthers the irresponsible and unacceptable practice of preachers using the pulpit to promote falsehood and incite their followers against certain sections of the society.”

Your response misleading, inciting – Rev Hayab

In its reaction, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the FCT backed Kukah, saying the crux of his Christmas homily was being twisted to further divide the country.

Through its vice chairman, Rev. John Hayab, the northern CAN described MURIC’s response as misleading and inciting.

“Reading through Bishop Kukah’s ‘A Nation In Search of Vindication’, CAN is unable to find any expression suggesting an affront to Islam or a call for a coup. Sadly, MURIC aims to incite citizens against one another along the lines of faith instead of denouncing the insecurity witnessed across the country which is the point of Bishop Kukah’s message. From the East to the South, West and all over the North, travelling has become a nightmare while hapless people are dragged from their homes for ransom,” it stated.

It said the memory of the gruesome killing of 76 farmers in Borno State and the abduction of the Kankara boys remains fresh and accused MURIC of keeping silent on those tragedies.

“Now from the blues as Bishop Kukah talked the truth to power, we read unscrupulous statements aimed at painting black a message that was clear and concise alerting the government of its failure on the security of lives and property of Nigerians,” he stated.

It called on the Presidency, MURIC, and other individuals to eschew intolerance and admit that Nigeria under Buhari has “strayed from the path and vision that the independence of this great country was fought for and won.”

Similarly, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) has said that it stood by Kukah. The National Director of CSN’s Social Communication, Fr. Mike Umoh, on Monday in Abuja, in a statement, expressed concern over the incessant attacks on Kukah by those alleging he sought to instigate violence and hinder national integration with his message. Umoh, however, said with the prolonged security and economic challenges facing the country, the Catholic Church in Nigeria stood by Kukah’s position on the state of the nation.

Southern, Middle Belt leaders back Kukah

Also, the Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum yesterday condemned what it called the “outbursts of the Presidency and the Northern Elders Forum” over Kukah’s comment. It said Kukah has been a beacon of truthfulness over the years and remains a foremost defender of the aspirations of millions of Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines.  Spokespersons of the forum, Yinka Odumakin (South West), Chief Guy Ikokwu (South East), Senator Bassey Henshaw (South- South) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), in a statement , said Kukah’s comments have been applauded by majority of Nigerians and “we all stand with him.”

They said:”What we expected was for those concerned to retrace their very unhelpful steps and get back to rekindling oneness in the country. We once more call on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to restructure the country.”