How corps members ate leaves, drank filthy water to survive during abduction

Graduates of AKWA Ibom State who were abducted in Zamfara State last year while travelling to Sokoto State to begin their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) duty have pleaded with the federal and state governments to offer them jobs in order to help them gradually recover from the ordeal.

On August 17 of last year, eight corps members and their bus driver were kidnapped in an ambush on the Zamfara highway as they left Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom, on their way to the Sokoto NYSC Orientation Camp.

Solomon Daniel, who had been detained for a year, was the last of the victims to be rescued from the kidnappers’ den after enduring unspeakable torture.

According to the Vanguard, speaking about their experiences in Uyo, some of the victims expressed yesterday that they had experienced serious health issues and post-traumatic aches as a result of the terrifying event.

Solomon Daniel said that because his widow’s mother could not afford the requested ransom, the kidnappers isolated him from his colleagues and detained him longer than the others.

Held August 17, 2023, and freed August 22, 2024, Daniel recounted, “I went through a lot. I chewed leaves to survive and drank extremely dirty water.

“I was tortured daily from morning till evening. I could not defecate or urinate for three months. I thought I was going to die.”

Daniel, who was regarded as the “most stubborn” by his kidnappers, described how he was driven through bush roads on a motorbike from Zamfara to Kaduna State and protected by more than ten armed men for several months until being freed by security personnel.

Another victim, Victoria Bassey, stated: “I never thought I would survive such horrible conditions. We were unable to take a bath even while we were menstruating. To keep alive, we drank flood water.”

Another victim, Etim Bassey, said that the abductors pretended to be uniformed military personnel guarding a purported checkpoint at the location of their kidnapping.

“Our bus was intercepted at a bad spot in Zamfara we mistook for a checkpoint. The area was blocked with logs of wood and manned by armed men in military uniforms, who ordered us into the forest,” he stated.

The former corps members thanked those involved whose efforts enabled their rescue and requested that the federal and state governments provide them with productive employment and other types of aid to aid in their recovery.

They expressed gratitude to Governor Umo Eno of the state, NYSC Director-General Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, President Bola Tinubu, security personnel, and other well-meaning Nigerians for their assistance in ensuring their freedom.

They called for employment prospects and urged the government to help ease their “post-traumatic experience,” according to Matthew Koffi Okono, Founder and President of the Open Forum Care for Humanity Foundation, the non-governmental organisation that encouraged people to tell their stories.

“The Federal Government should look into making the NYSC scheme more pro-development and equitable,” Okono continued, urging changes to the program.

“The Federal Government should look into making the NYSC scheme more pro-development and safer, to add more value to nation-building,” Okono said after urging changes to the NYSC program.