A prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member abducted by gunmen in Imo State has recounted how she and other victims were beaten, threatened and forced to survive on dry garri and muddy water while held captive in a forest.
The victim, who spoke in a BBC interview, said their captors monitored telephone conversations with their families and subjected them to beatings whenever they heard statements they disliked.
“We are given a phone to call our family, and if any family say anything they don’t want to hear or any rubbish that would make them angry, we will be beaten,” she said.
“That person will be beaten, used the gun, wood. Sometimes they use their hands to punch them, mostly the guys.”
Recounting the circumstances surrounding the abduction, she said their bus departed at about 9 a.m. and made several stops during the journey.
According to her, the driver eventually stopped at a location considered dangerous for onward travel, and the passengers were advised to rest before continuing their journey.
She said she contacted her family to explain that they would spend the night at a public place before going to sleep. However, she woke up in the hands of the kidnappers and could not explain how they had been taken into the forest.
“When I woke up, that was when the incident happened. I don’t know how we got to the forest where we were kept for some time,” she said.
The victim said their captors provided little food and dirty water, leaving them with no option but to consume whatever was available to stay alive.
“What we are eating there is just garri. Like Igbo garri, dry garri with mud water. Very dirty water,” she said.
“I can’t even give my enemy that water. We don’t have a choice, we have to take it for survival.”
She also described the psychological trauma of the experience, saying she struggled to understand what was happening as the reality of her captivity sank in.
“I can’t explain how I felt. I can’t even cry, I was just looking, I was lost. I don’t know what to do,” she said.
“It felt like it was a movie. I don’t believe that this is happening to me.”
The victim credited security personnel, including operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), with securing their release.
“The government, the DSS staff, we were rescued by them,” she said.
The 20 prospective corps members and another passenger were abducted on October 1, 2026, when gunmen attacked two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road near Umunoha in Imo State. They were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The victims regained their freedom on October 7 following a coordinated security operation and were taken to a DSS medical facility in Owerri for medical attention.
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