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Three of the 26 villagers that were abducted by Bandits from Igu Tsauni, Shapai communities and its surrounding villages along Mangoro in Munya local government area of Niger state two weeks ago have escaped from captivity and have reunited with their families.
The three, all men, escaped to freedom on Wednesday night during a heavy downpour when they were being moved by the Bandits from their (Bandits)temporary camp along Mangoro to a permanent camp in Kaduna state following the failure of their relations to pay their ransom.
One of the escapees who simply gave his name as Chukwudi, a timber dealer who was abducted in the bush while trying to evacuate his timber, told our correspondent that their escape was made possible due to the heavy downpour on Wednesday night which made movement in the bush very difficult for the Bandits.
He said they were stuck at a river bank and could not cross due to the volume of the water and were taking refuge under a tree in the heavy rain when they managed to escape even though all the Men were thigh together three each with ropes to prevent them from escaping.
According to him, when they escaped, they ran in different directions to avoid being caught and trekking in the bush all through the night and inside the rain before arriving at a nearby village at about 4 a.m. Thursday.
He disclosed that the remaining victims, mostly women are still being held at the river bank because “the bandits are finding it difficult to cross the water and there is no any other route for them. They threatened us that anybody who tried to escape would be shot.
“Our escape was a miracle, it was God because the decision to escape was a difficult one but when we saw that the rain was very heavy, we told ourselves that we could use the opportunity of the rain to escape and God made it possible for us.”
He pointed out that they were picked up by the Bandits from different locations and kept together in a Tent at Shapai village before being moved to their camp probably in Kaduna state when their ransom could not be paid at the stipulated time, adding that “the Bandits were all Fulanis and some of them were dressed in one of the security agents (name withheld) uniform”.
He disclosed further that while three of them, all Ibos were asked to bring a million each as ransom after much plea, the remaining victims were asked to tell their families to pay a million each before they could regain their freedom, saying that they could not eat for three days.
“They told us that anybody that dies in transit will just be covered with leaves and abandoned there because they cannot bury anybody. They told us that they do not have what to dig the ground to cover anybody and that it is better we tell our people to bring money quickly because that is the only thing that can set us free,” he added.
