Mustapha Abubakar, one of the victims who escaped after he was abducted by bandits at Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State has opened up about his harrowing experience.
The escapee said he hid in a shrub that was brown in colour like his trousers and crawled like a snake while they were moved by the bandits and later escaped.
It would be recalled that not less than 287 students from the LEA Primary and Secondary School in Kuriga, Kaduna State, were kidnapped last Thursday when bandits attacked the school premises.
However, Abubakar, who was one of the few students who managed to escape after the kidnap, told BBC Hausa in an interview that the bandits moved the children like a herd of cows.
Narrating how badly the victims were treated, he said most of them were very tired and weak from the journey, adding that they were not given food as even the bandits had no food but only ate leaves and wild fruits.
In his words, “We trekked in the bush; sometimes we crawled. We were so thirsty that some of the girls were becoming weak and falling down due to tiredness. The bandits were lifting them up and putting some of them on motorcycles.”
“Afterwards, we reached a big river, where we drank water and continued trekking. There was a plane that hovered above us. That was when the bandits ordered us to remove one of our clothes and lie down.”
“Even the bandits were exhausted. They had no food and were eating leaves and wild fruits. They gave us nothing to eat.”
“While we were moving, I noticed a shrub that was brown in colour, like my trouser. I hid inside and crawled like a snake. I was there until it was completely silent before I came out and headed to the bush.”
“I later met an old man who had difficulty walking. I asked him the pathway to the main road or any close place so that I could get water to drink.”
“I had a marathon race. I was exhausted, but I pushed on, as evening time was approaching. I later arrived at Gayan, a community near us, and that was how I eventually escaped.”
