Freed abductee recounts ordeal, says bandit threatened to marry Ameera as 6th wife in Kaduna forest

By Enekorogha Godbless

Abducted victims of Kaduna state Suleiman Ibrahim has maintained that thousands of bandits are found living in the bush of Kaduna state.

Suleiman Ibrahim who was abducted alongside with Engr. Ramatu Abarshi, lecturer of Kaduna Polytechnic and her daughter Ameera, posited that it takes divine intervention that he escaped being killed while they were at the custody of the bandits in the bush.

The victims identified one of the bandits as Kachalla who intended to make Ameera his sixth wife.

According to him, “Kachalla and many other bandits lived a life of affluence in the forest where they normally turned sacks full of money into pillows. One of the bandits leaders had even asked the KADPOLY lecturer if she could pave way for him to buy a mansion in Kaduna where he could live and enjoy his retirement even if such house is in trillions. “Sometimes you hear them sending 10 or 20 million naira to their girlfriends.”

“The bandits, mostly Fulani were so many in the Birnin-Gwari forest and possessed big weapons, where they lived with their wives and children. They are in thousands, a small Army cannot defeat them. They have big guns, they are in groups with each group under the leadership of a king pin.

“Even when they waylaid and kidnapped us, they came in large number, about a thousand. At that time they fired at a hilux with RPG killing some of the occupants. Among those who kidnapped us were a Fulani gunman from Benin Republic.

“When they saw my driver’s licence and that of Ameera, they concluded that we were police operatives and threatened to kill us. It was one of them who could read that told them we were not police operatives. They took us on motorbikes while we trekked for four days. We were in Niger state before they brought us to Birnin Gwari forest, Buruku forest and later to a village near Sabon Birni.

“At Buruku, their wives were not happy with what they are doing. They liked Ameera and she was later taken to their place because they were indulging in rape. They beat me severely, it affected my kidney because I was urinating blood. We were fed with mangoes and drank murky water. A Fanta bottle of water was given for three to share, the same water that cows drank.

“I never thought I will escape death, even when they released Hajiya (the KADPOLY lecturer), I gave her my ATM card for onward delivery to my wife and asked her to tell my relations to take care of my children. Their little children hate Hausas especially, sometimes they also beat us. We were tied with ropes.”