Our abductors asked us to pray for them – Jangebe abductee

A group of girls previously kidnapped from their boarding school in northern Nigeria arrive on March 2, 2021 at the Government House in Gusau, Zamfara State upon their release. – All 279 girls kidnapped from their boarding school in northern Nigeria have been released and are on government premises. Nigeria has been rocked by four mass abductions of students in less than three months, by criminal groups. Gunmen from cattle rustling and kidnapping-for-ransom gangs on February 26, 2021 invaded the Government Girls Secondary School in remote Jangebe village, whisking the girls away from their hostel. (Photo by Aminu ABUBAKAR / AFP)

Hunainatu Abubakar, one of the abductees from Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara, said the abductors asked the captives to pray for them to be good citizens.

Hunainatu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Government House, Gusau on Tuesday, shortly after the 279 abductees regained their freedom after being kidnapped last Friday.

“They ridiculed us, called us with many bad names, threatened to kill us and then later, they asked us to pray for them to be good citizens and that we should teach them English so that they could speak.


“They also threatened to rape us but their leader warned them against that, they always added sand to our foods and only allowed us to dig for water with our fingers at a drying pond,” she said.

Hunainatu said she would go back to Kaduna where she came from and continue at a day school to fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer.

“Some of the bandits even asked if we will marry them but none of us responded and so they said they would be looking for those with big eyes and kill them.

Hunainatu said that although they were taken at night through the back of their school, she could trace the location and can still remember their faces if she saw any of them.


She said one of the students also saw her father who was kidnapped over three months ago but he cautioned them against showing any relationship with him to avoid being killed.

She said most of them returned with wounds and swollen legs because they were asked to leave their shoes on the day of the kidnap.

Hunainatu said they slept in the open while in captivity only to go into hiding along with the criminals when they heard the sounds of helicopters on search and rescue mission.

Some of the victims’ parents who went to Gusau from different parts thanked God for the release of their children, urging government to continue to provide security to communities.

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