I Was Kidnapped By Herdsmen In Army Uniform – Abuja Law School Student

A law school student who was recently kidnapped along the Kabba-Obajana road, Motunrayo Rafiu, has claimed that her abductors were herdsmen.

Motunrayo, who is a graduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, had been kidnapped on January 4 while on her way to resume at the Nigerian Law School in Abuja.

She was said to have been released alongside four others after a ransom was paid to the abductors.

Motunrayo narrated her ordeal: “While on my way to resume at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, just before Obajana in Kogi State, we saw that some people numbering about 20 in army uniform blocked the road and we thought that they were soldiers on a routine patrol. But all of a sudden, they started shooting continuously and everybody ran for safety. They, however, caught up with us.

“At first, I wondered if they were Boko Haram insurgents or Fulani herdsmen because they wore masks and had sophisticated guns. You don’t have a choice but to cooperate with them.

“Eight people were abducted and we were made to trek into the wilderness. We trekked and climbed rocks barefooted for the six days we spent in their den; we were treated like cows. If you dared to walk behind them, they would flog you as if they were dealing with cows.

“When we got to their base, some of their workers that also rear cows came to greet them and they started dishing out instructions to the workers. I was made to cook food for the rest of the passengers; we were given rice and palm oil to eat.

“I only urinated three times for the whole six days because we had to take permission before we could do anything. While I was there, I believed that I would come out alive; I encouraged the other victims.”

On the ransom, she said, “When they demanded N5m from my family, I told them the situation of things at home and where my mother works so the ransom was reduced to N1m, while others paid N2m and above, depending on their status. No one should go through this kind of experience,” Punch quoted her to have said.