Ishaya Kukah, a brother to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has narrated his ordeal while in the den of kidnappers.
Ishaya was part of the 60 victims rescued from captivity by the Nigerian Military and handed over to their families by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Speaking on Tuesday, April 8, Ishaya said he had already lost hope until their rescue by troops of 1 Division of the Nigerian Army in Kaduna.
Noting that they (the abductees) suffered so much at the hands of their captors, Ishaya said they were always chained in twos.
“Frankly speaking, I had already given up. I didn’t think I would come out alive because of how they were treating us in the bush,” he said.
“We suffered too much. They used to chain us in twos. If you wanted to defecate or urinate, you had to move together,” Ishaya said.
According to him, abductees were pressured into calling their families for huge amounts of money to be delivered as ransom.
He said those who were reluctant or did not cooperate were beaten or killed by the bandits.
“if they noticed you were reluctant, they would beat or even kill you”.
“If not for the federal government, we would still be in the bush. Thank you for what you have done. God bless you,” Ishaya said.
