A mother, Mrs Comfort Ezekiel, has narrated the harrowing experience she and her daughter endured during their 52 days in captivity after bandits abducted them from their community in Kachia local government area of Kaduna State.
Speaking amid tears during an interview with LEADERSHIP, Comfort said the ordeal she and her daughter endured did not end with the payment of ransom, alleging that the bandits molested her daughter in her presence while escorting them out of the forest after collecting money from their family.
According to her, several other female captives were also allegedly subjected to similar abuse during their time in captivity.
“They collected the ransom and told us we were free to go. We thought our suffering was over, but it was not. They raped my daughter before my eyes. It is a painful memory that will never leave me,” she said.
Comfort recalled that she and several others were abducted when armed bandits invaded their community in Kachia LGA and marched them into the forest, where they remained in captivity for 52 days.
She described life in captivity as a daily struggle for survival, marked by hunger, fear and uncertainty.
“We slept on the bare ground and survived on little food and water. We trekked for hours through the forest and lived every day with the fear that we could be killed at any moment”.
The mother said the emotional trauma of witnessing the abuse of her daughter remains the most painful aspect of their ordeal.
“No mother should witness what I saw. I cannot forget it. Even though we have returned home, we are not the same people who were taken away. The pain remains in our hearts,” she said.
Comfort disclosed that her daughter has yet to recover from the trauma and continues to experience health complications following the incident.
“My daughter is still in pain. She has not recovered physically or emotionally from what happened to her. We are praying that she gets the medical attention and support she needs,” she said.
She appealed to the federal and Kaduna State governments, security agencies and humanitarian organisations to provide medical, psychological and social support for victims of kidnapping, noting that many survivors return home with deep emotional and physical scars.
Residents of the affected community expressed concern over the worsening security situation in the area. They urged security agencies to step up operations against bandit groups terrorising communities in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state.
