“We walked barefoot through forests, drank from streams, and survived on cashew fruits… but I made it out alive.”
In a chilling first-person account that reads like a scene from a horror movie, a brave female student of the Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), Osara, has narrated how she miraculously survived a horrifying kidnapping ordeal — without her family paying a single kobo in ransom.
The nightmare began on the night of May 9, around 8 p.m., during a tutorial session she had reluctantly agreed to hold for fellow students.
“Barely ten minutes into the session, we heard a gunshot. At first, I wasn’t alarmed. The school’s security operatives sometimes fired warning shots. But the sound grew louder, more frequent and much closer. That’s when we hit the floor.”
Moments later, armed men stormed the class, turned off the lights, and opened fire. The chaos that followed was harrowing.
“They dragged us out. I tried to escape. I ran blindly into the night, but unknowingly, I ran toward another group of them. I was slapped so hard I fell and blacked out. That’s how they took us, right from the premises of CUSTECH.”
The captives were forced to march barefoot through the bush all night. The kidnappers seized everyone’s phones — except hers, which had miraculously been left plugged in at her hostel.
“We walked for hours, barefoot and clueless of where we were headed. For two full days, we had nothing to eat. On the third day, they gave us one small pack of spaghetti — just one for 25 of us. I broke down in tears.”
The physical ordeal was only matched by the psychological trauma. The student, mistaken for a lecturer, later discovered the attackers had launched a separate assault on the university shortly after her abduction. Her group was marched from Osara to Kabba, enduring harsh weather and starvation.
“We drank only from streams. We crossed forests, climbed mountains. When it rained, we were drenched. When the sun came up, it dried our skin. Yet, somehow, I didn’t fall ill, not even once, despite my preexisting health condition. It was only God.”
In Kwara State, the kidnappers began making ransom calls — demanding N200 million per person. At that point, ten students were in captivity. Only eight survived.
“They beat us severely, especially on days they made ransom calls. By then, food was down to just twice a week.”
Tragedy struck when the gang leader arrived and falsely claimed two students were being released because their ransoms had been paid.
“They selected two guys. But I knew something was off. Our parents were negotiating together; there’s no way two people’s ransom had cleared first… Then they promised to come back and take three girls next.”
Panic set in, and hope dwindled. Surveillance helicopters flew overhead, signaling a government search operation. Fearing discovery, the kidnappers kept moving their captives deeper into the forest.
“On May 30, they told us we’d be going home the next day. We were happy. But I didn’t know they were planning to kill us all.”
One of the young kidnappers, moved by compassion, secretly warned her of the impending plan to eliminate all the captives.
“He was the one who secretly told us the truth: they were under orders to eliminate us. But he said he’d help us escape. I cried. He warned me to hide my emotions or I’d blow his cover.”
On June 2, under cover of darkness and rain, they were abandoned in the bush with vague instructions to flee if they saw any lights.
“We reached a village at dawn. The locals ran at the sight of us; filthy, soaked, and broken. One girl was brave enough to talk to us. She pointed us toward the main road.”
After five days without food, the survivors lived off roadside cashew fruits until kind strangers offered them bread. A good Samaritan eventually called the police, who came to their rescue.
In a bitter twist, she confirmed that the two boys earlier “released” had in fact been executed. But amidst the horror, there was one relief:
“None of the girls had been molested. That, at least, was a miracle in the madness.”
She concluded her account with emotion and strength:
“This is my story. One I’ll never forget. One that still haunts me. But I survived. And that alone is everything.”
Authorities are yet to make a formal statement regarding this specific account, but her survival stands as a powerful testament to faith, resilience, and divine mercy.
