A 24-year-old man, Denen Ayua, from Mbayion in Gboko Local Council of Benue State, has recounted how kidnappers vowed to kill him after collecting ransom from his family because of his ethnicity.

Ayua, who was abducted alongside other passengers along the Keffi–Akwanga–Lafia road on Sunday, narrated his ordeal from his hospital bed in Makurdi.

He said he was returning from Kano when the vehicle slowed at a bad portion of the road near Akwanga. “Suddenly, kidnappers came out from both sides with big sticks and smashed all the windshields. Some passengers escaped, but I was among those trapped,” he recalled.

He said they were marched into the bush, blindfolded, and had their phones seized, while the kidnappers demanded N5 million from his family. “When they discovered I was Tiv, they whipped me and vowed to kill me after collecting the ransom,” he said.

According to him, he managed to escape at dawn when the guards assigned to him dozed off. “I sneaked away, but loose stones gave me away and they chased after me. A hunter’s flashlight scared them off, and I kept running until I stumbled on a home where I found safety,” he added.

The Benue State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has taken over his care. The Commissioner directed that he be transferred to Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi, for counselling and proper medical treatment.