Some of the 176 women and children abducted in Kwara State and recently freed after nearly six months in captivity have revealed the horrifying ordeal they endured, including the deaths of at least 13 captives and the continued detention of 12 children.
The rescued abductees disclosed that 12 children were left behind in the terrorists’ custody, allegedly after their captors threatened to turn them into slaves if they attempted to leave with the other victims.
The victims spent nearly six months in the forest after terrorists abducted them during the February 3 attack on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of the state.
The survivors, who were among those rescued on Wednesday, disclosed that the 12 children were not released with them because the terrorists allegedly warned that anyone who attempted to escape would be kept as a slave.
One of the survivors, Nafisat Abdulfatai, said fear forced the children to remain behind, adding that some of them were considered old enough by the terrorists to be retained.
She said 13 people died during the period of captivity, while several children also lost their lives.
The survivor said the captives endured severe hunger, with most of them surviving on just one meal a day, often prepared with little more than salt.
She recalled that there were days when the victims had nothing to eat until late in the evening, while others were forced to consume food they would ordinarily never have considered eating.
Their living conditions were equally horrific.
According to Abdulfatai, the captives initially slept in the open forest and remained exposed to rain before the terrorists eventually erected a makeshift shelter after some children died.
She said the shelter was grossly inadequate for the large number of captives, forcing some to sleep on top of one another whenever it rained.
The ordeal also took a devastating toll on pregnant women and babies in the camp, with several women reportedly giving birth in captivity and some losing their babies.
Another survivor, Nafisat Yusuf, said many captives remained sick throughout their ordeal, while several children died from the harsh conditions.
The victims were among 176 women and children abducted when armed men believed to be terrorists attacked Woro and neighbouring Nuku communities.
The attackers reportedly stormed the communities on motorcycles, killing residents and destroying homes, shops and the palace of the traditional ruler before taking scores of people into the forest.
The survivors were eventually rescued by security personnel and formally received by the Kwara State Government.
While expressing gratitude for their freedom, the victims appealed for efforts to secure the release of the 12 children still trapped in the terrorists’ den.
For the rescued captives, however, the nightmare of nearly six months has ended—but their account has exposed the fate of the children allegedly left behind in the forest under threat of being turned into slaves.
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