One of the escapee students of Kuriga in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Mustapha Abubakar, has narrated his ordeal in the hands of their captors, saying he stealthily hid in a shrub like a snake while his fellow students were moved by the bandits.
Abubakar, was among the 280 school children kidnapped, but he and 27 others were able to return to their respective families.
It was reported that the kidnapped children, both males and females, were between the ages of 5 and 18.
Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna on Monday, Mustapha Abubakar explained that the bandits moved the children like a herd of cows.
“We trekked in the bush, sometimes we crawled. We were so thirsty, 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.”
“We later reached a big river were 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 which 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 was having 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 going till evening. I later arrived at Gayan, a community near us and that was how I eventually escaped,” he said.
Recall that bandits had on the 7th of March, 2024, attacked the Kuriga community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and kidnapped over 280 students including some teachers at the LEA Primary School Kuriga, while they were concluding the morning assembly.
According to a local who craved anonymity, ” the incident happened in the morning at about 8. 30 am when the students were about to conclude the morning assembly. The bandits came from different parts of the village and encircled the school premises.”
” The bandits kidnapped over 200 students, both primary pupils and secondary school students who were moved from a location outside the community to the primary school due to the fear of bandits attack.”
“They also went away with a teacher, Isa They shot one student, Rabilu who was rushed to the Birnin Gwari hospital. He survived. “
