David Obiora, a Nigerian Law School student abducted en route to the Yola Campus, has recounted a harrowing ordeal of torture, starvation, and ransom, while refuting police claims of a rescue operation.
In an exclusive interview, Obiora, who hails from Anambra State, revealed that he and other passengers were kidnapped on July 20 along the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway after boarding an Al Dampulo Company vehicle from Onitsha to Yola. He said their vehicle was ambushed when the road was blocked with sticks and tables.
“The driver tried to escape by turning into the bush, but the vehicle got stuck. That was how they caught us,” he narrated.
Among the abducted passengers were six Nigerian Law School students, traders, and other travellers. Obiora said they spent five gruelling days in captivity—from Saturday, July 26 to Wednesday, July 31—where they were subjected to daily beatings, forced to drink muddy water, and fed only once a day.
Each victim, he said, was released only after a ransom of N10 million was paid.
Contrary to statements from the Nigerian Police, Obiora maintained that no security operatives were involved in their release.
“No, the police didn’t rescue us. We paid ransom and were released. The police were just afraid the kidnappers might kill us. They didn’t come close,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that the Council of Legal Education played any role in their recovery, saying, “There was no role they played.”
Obiora recounted that after their release, he and the other victims trekked for hours through the forest, crossing from Benue State into Taraba, before arriving at a restaurant near a motor park where they waited overnight for a transport official to assist them.
Describing the conditions in the kidnappers’ den, Obiora said the local community was fully complicit in the crime.
“Elderly women cooked for us. Children watched us as we moved to ease ourselves. Nobody tried to stop the evil—they were all part of it. It’s a community business,” he alleged.
He identified the area as Jota community, dominated by the Tiv ethnic group in Benue State. According to him, the lead kidnapper is a former soldier who has been in the business for nine years and uses his influence to settle corrupt military personnel.
“One of them told me he’s been in this business for nine years. He owns a Highlander, and his wife and kids live comfortably while he operates from the bush,” Obiora said.
He also claimed that the kidnappers rely on a “jujuman” (native doctor) from Kano, who allegedly helps detect and neutralize any impending military incursion.
Calling for decisive government action, Obiora urged the Nigerian military to launch an aerial assault on the forested area.
“That place should be dry land. Let them wipe the entire place because the kidnappers are using the community as a shield,” he stated.
Obiora’s chilling account adds to growing concerns about the worsening state of insecurity along Nigeria’s highways and the complicity of local communities in criminal enterprises.
