A Nigerian Law School student, David Obiora, who was abducted alongside other passengers on July 26, 2025, has come forward with shocking details of their six-day ordeal in captivity, clarifying that their kidnappers were Tiv-speaking locals from Benue State, not Fulani as widely speculated.
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In aninterview with journalists, Obiora, a student of the Nigerian Law School, Yola campus, debunked claims by the Nigeria Police that he and five others were rescued. He insisted that no security agency, the Law School, or the Council of Legal Education intervened in their release.
“We were released only after our families and friends raised and paid ₦10 million each as ransom,” he said.
Narrating the incident, Obiora said they were kidnapped along the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway after boarding a transport company’s vehicle from Onitsha, Anambra State, to Yola. The bus carried six law students, a driver, three passengers heading to Cameroon, and a woman from Anambra going on vacation.
The attack occurred at about 9 p.m. near a town called Jootar, as armed men ambushed the vehicle and drove it deep into the bush.
“We were taken 20 kilometers into the forest by about ten armed men. Four carried AK-47 rifles while the others had machetes and daggers,” he recalled. “They called for backup after our bus got stuck. More bandits arrived on motorcycles, and we were moved deeper into the bush.”
At their hideout, the abductees met four other victims: a staff member of Federal University Wukari, a corps member named Dauda Wisdom, a pastor who recently had surgery, and another unidentified man.
Describing the conditions in captivity, Obiora said: “We ate once a day. The food was barely edible, and we drank muddy water. The wives of the bandits cooked and fetched water for us. Even children as young as three played with guns in front of us like it was normal.”
He disclosed that the gang’s leader, identified as Matthew, is either a dismissed soldier or deserter, while another kidnapper named David claimed to have been in the kidnapping business for nine years.
“David told us he had bought a Highlander SUV and another car for his wife, yet he can’t return home because he’s a wanted man. Matthew, their boss, claimed to have spiritual protection from a ‘juju’ man in Kano who, he said, made him untouchable by the military,” Obiora stated.
He confirmed that the captors were Tiv-speaking locals. “I initially thought they were Fulani, as commonly assumed in such cases. But from their dialect, mannerisms, and community presence, it became clear they were Tiv. Their language was unmistakable.”
According to him, the entire community seemed subdued or complicit. “No one dared speak out. The kidnappers lived openly with their wives and children in the forest. The victims were brought out in the open without fear of being seen.”
After paying the ransom, the victims were released and forced to trek for hours through dense bush paths, eventually crossing from Benue into Taraba State.
“We finally reached a restaurant near a motor park where we rested for the night,” Obiora said. “Later, the manager of the transport company helped us link up with the driver, and we continued our journey to Yola.”
Obiora’s account raises concerns about the security situation in parts of Benue and the role of communities where kidnapping gangs operate freely. He called for accurate reporting and transparency from authorities, urging the public to understand the truth behind such incidents.
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