By Adeleye Kunle
Hassan Lawal Uthman, one of the freed victims of the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack, claims his captors demanded N100 million before releasing him.
According to Uthman, the train attackers are members of Jama?at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Dawah wa al-Jihad, also known as the Boko Haram terrorist group, whose operations are motivated by religious ideology.
He claims the insurgents are well-armed and have taken over a large area of the country’s forests spanning three to four states, alongside regular bandits armed with sophisticated weapons.
Uthman described his captors, who later resorted to flogging the victims daily, as previously nice while being held in the insurgents’ den for four months.
According to the former captive, the insurgents fed him and others cow meat and even gave them N10,000 each for maintenance.
According to him, the kidnappers claimed to be attacking government interests because the government did not allow them (the insurgents) to practice their religion as they desired.
According to Uthman, a lawyer, the terrorists also accused the government of arbitrarily arresting and detaining their members, prompting them to attack government interests.
“It’s actually been a terrible experience since March 28, when the train was attacked,” he said. We were subjected to a horrific and dehumanizing experience. We trekked for three days before arriving at the captors’ camp, where we were held captive for nearly four months.
“Those four months were trying times for us as victims of this attack.”
“It was dreadful in the captors’ camp.” We killed a number of snakes. In the beginning, we slept on the bare ground. However, we later obtained a mat, which we spread out and slept on.
“When the rain started, some huts were built for us, and whenever it rained, we went there until it stopped.” We usually stayed under a tree the entire time. As you are aware, it is dense forest; there were numerous reptiles such as snakes, scorpions, and others, and we always slept with one eye open.
“In terms of feeding, they (terrorists) did everything they could to ensure that we were well fed.” On our request, they even slaughtered cows for us to eat. They would occasionally bring us drinks and bread. They even divided some money among us about five days ago. They gave us each N10,000 for our supplies. They said we could order anything we needed through them if we needed it.
“I can’t say this is the exact location of the forest where we camped. We were imprisoned in a forest that stretched across three or four states. So I can’t say for certain that this is the forest where we camped.
“The attackers’ beliefs are ideological and religious in nature.” We were in the forest; one of their grievances against the government is that they want to practice their religion, but the government does not allow them to do so in the way they want. So, they claim, this provoked them.
“Also, the government detained some of their members for several months.” Children were among those detained. They (insurgents) believe they must attack the government. That is what they claimed prompted them to launch the attack on the train where we were detained.
“They wanted us swapped with their members, but the government refused.” However, their children were swapped with 11 victims along the way. Since then, there has been no continuous exchange of information between them and the government.”
“Thereafter, they opened a window for our families to come in and see if they could negotiate our release with our families.”
“The government played no role in my release.” The government has failed miserably in its primary responsibility of protecting its citizens’ lives and property. This attack was launched on a government train, and they were unable to take any proactive action to ensure our rescue for over four months. Despite the large sums of money allocated to the country’s security agencies.
“I was a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari.” However, his administration must significantly improve in the area of security, as it has failed the Nigerian people.
“These terrorists are heavily armed.” We saw some of their weapons. They have advanced weapons. The forest is not only home to the Jama?at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Dawah wa al-Jihad (Boko Haram). Other bandits are armed with sophisticated weapons as well.
“What is troubling is that they have resolved to continue carrying out this type of attack on government interests.” “I believe the government should sit down and negotiate with these people to ensure that all of these security challenges are addressed,” Uthman said.
