Survivor Says Kidnapped Corps Members Were Fed Garri With Dirty Water

A young Nigerian who survived being kidnapped on the way to national youth service has described days of fear, hunger and beatings, and the strain of having to speak to worried parents and siblings while under the watch of armed men.

The survivor was one of 20 prospective corps members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted on October 1 while travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.

The survivor spoke to BBC Pidgin in an interview published on Monday.

The survivor said the group left Ibadan at about 9am and made several stops before reaching Onitsha, where the driver told them they would spend the night.

Earlier, the passengers asked him to keep going when they reached Ore to avoid delays.

According to the account, the driver explained that they needed to rest in Onitsha because the next leg of the journey could be dangerous.

The passengers told their families about the overnight stop and went to sleep, only to wake up in captivity.

In the forest where they were held, the survivor said, food was scarce and basic. Their captors gave them dry garri and dirty water, which they had to consume to stay alive.

“What we are eating there is just garri, like eba garri, dry garri with mud water, very dirty water that, hmm, I can’t even fit give my enemy that water, but we bin no get choice, we gatz take am for survival,” the survivor said.

The abductees were allowed to call their families, but the survivor said these calls came with risks.

Anyone whose relatives said something the captors did not want to hear faced punishment.

“We were given phone to call our families. And if any family say anything wey dem no wan hear, or any rubbish wey go fit make dem angry, we will be beaten. That person will be beaten, use the gun to hit the person,” the survivor said.

The survivor added that the male victims were mostly the ones assaulted, while the captors appeared somewhat reluctant to beat the women.

“Sometimes dem go use dia hand to punch dem, mostly the guys. Dem still dey fear small to beat woman,” the survivor said.

The survivor said the experience left them numb and unable to make sense of what was happening.

“I can’t express how I feel because I bin no fit cry, I just dey look and I was lost. I don’t know what to do, e bin look like movie, I bin no believe say that kain tin happen to me,” the survivor said.

The survivor credited the Department of State Services (DSS) with their rescue. “The government, na di DSS rescue us,” the survivor said.