By Terkula Igidi
Eighteen victims abducted along the Adoka-Uboju axis of Benue State have regained their freedom after the payment of about N8 million ransom and the provision of foodstuff and groceries valued at more than N500,000.
The victims were released on Thursday night in a forest along the Otukpo-Ogobia Road, close to the Benue-Kogi boundary, according to Simon Igidi, husband of one of the victims.
Igidi, who picked the victims up in the forest said the released hostages arrived in Makurdi at about midnight and were immediately taken to hospitals for medical attention after spending six days in captivity.
He said an elderly woman among the abductees was released separately on Friday, the same day the group was kidnapped, but did not get home to Tyomu until Monday evening.
According to him, the remaining 17 victims were released after the ransom was paid, with the abductees comprising eight women from Tyomu, three persons from Vandeikya and seven others from the Wurukum area of Makurdi.
“We are grateful that they have finally returned alive. They were taken into the bush and went through a very difficult experience. Some of them need medical attention and psychological support,” Igidi said.
One of the victims, Mrs Linda Ingyough, said they were held in the forest with a rocky terrain and were fed with only garri and were given a four litre jerry can of muddy water to share everyday.
“It was so traumatizing we thought we’re going to die of hunger as we were given dry garri to munch once a day. Thank God we survived even after six days in captivity, enduring merciless flogging from the bandits. Now we’re back home,” she said.
The abduction had triggered tension in Tyomu and adjoining communities, culminating in a protest on the Makurdi-Gboko Road on Tuesday.
The victims were reportedly travelling to Ankpa, Kogi State, for a burial when their vehicle was attacked just after Adoka on Friday, September 25.
The abductors demanded N30 million per person initially but it was negotiated to N8 million for all the hostages.
Angered by the continued captivity of their relatives, mainly women, residents of Tyomu blocked the busy Makurdi-Gboko highway on Tuesday, demanding urgent intervention by the government and security agencies.
Security and government officials subsequently appealed to the protesters to open the highway, while the police said they were working to locate and rescue the victims.
However, Samuel Iortim, husband of another victim, decried the inaction of the State Government and the security agencies, saying the incident was reported to the appropriate authorities since last Saturday morning when it was established that the travellers were abducted by the bandits
Following the victims’ return, PureBioTech Nigeria Limited has donated N1 million to support their rehabilitation.
Alhaji Abdulkadir Mohammed, who presented the money to representatives of the Tyomu community at the company’s premises yesterday, said the gesture was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
He said PureBioTech, an ethanol-producing company, considered the welfare and humanitarian needs of people in its host and neighbouring communities important.
“We take the humanitarian needs of our people seriously. This support is part of our responsibility to the community and our commitment to standing with people at difficult moments,” Mohammed said.
Also, the Chairman of Makurdi Local Government Area, Hon. Joseph Keffi, who visited the Tyomu community following the incident, donated N1.5 million to support the victims.