We Ate Leaves, Drank Flood Water To Survive - Kidnapped A’Ibom Ex-Corps Members Recount

 

Former corps members from Akwa Ibom State kidnapped in Zamfara last year have shared their harrowing experience.

 

The ex-corpers were kidnapped while en route to Sokoto for their national service.

 

According to New Telegraph, the victims said they ate leaves and drank flood water to survive.

 

The ex-corps members, who spent between two months to one year in captivity, spoke of severe health challenges and deplorable sanitary conditions, especially for the female hostages.

 

In an interview with New Telegraph in Uyo on Thursday, one of the eight abducted ex-corps members, Solomon Bassey Daniel, who was held for a year, shared that he was separated from his colleagues after refusing to pay the ransom, as his parents could not afford it. He recounted that he was unable to pass stool for three months during his captivity.

 

Abducted on August 17, 2023, Daniel regained his freedom on August 22, 2024. “I went through a lot. I chewed leaves to survive and drank extremely dirty water. I was tortured daily from morning until evening. I could not defecate or urinate for three months. I thought I was going to die,” he recounted

 

Daniel, who was considered the “most stubborn” because of his refusal to agree to the kidnappers’ ransom demands, described how he was transported on a motorcycle from Zamfara to Kaduna State through bush tracks. He spent several months guarded by over 10 heavily armed men before being rescued by security operatives after a year in captivity.

 

Miss Victoria Bassey, another ex-corps member, described her ordeal: “I never believed I could survive under such terrible conditions. Even during our menstrual periods, we couldn’t bathe. We drank flood water to stay alive.”

 

Etim Bassey, another of the eight abducted corps members, recalled that their bus was intercepted at a bad spot in Zamfara, which they initially mistook for a checkpoint. “The area was blocked with logs of wood and manned by armed men in military uniforms, who then ordered them into the forest”. He said

 

The rescued corps members collectively expressed their gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, Director-General of NYSC, General Yusha’u Dogara Ahmed, Governor Umo Eno, security operatives, and other well-meaning Nigerians for their efforts in securing their freedom.

 

They also appealed for employment opportunities and any form of assistance that the state and federal governments could extend to help heal their trauma.

 

Speaking on their behalf, the Founder and President of the NGO; Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation, Mr. Matthew Koffi Okono (MKO), supported their call for job opportunities, urging the government to help ease their post-traumatic experience.

 

While commending President Tinubu and Governor Umo Eno and the DG of NYSC for their roles in securing the release of the abductees, Okono called on the Akwa Ibom State Government to formally receive the rescued graduates and offer them automatic employment in the state civil service.

 

He also advocated for reforms in the NYSC scheme, stating, “The Federal Government should look into making the NYSC scheme more pro-development and safer, to add more value to nation-building.”