From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
When a Jalingo-based teacher, Joseph Gimba was returning from a civil society meeting in Abuja on Thursday, March 2023, he never had any premonition of what the future tragically held for him. Nothing in the world spared him the details of the future or alarmed him that the next seven days would bring him closer to death.
At about midnight on that fateful day, the script of his tragic story in the hands of dare devil kidnappers who had been abducting targets in Zamfara, Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states, began to fall into places. That night, after being united with his family, the visitors arrived.
Gimba’s narration: “They had been in my area for about two hours before they struck. Some dogs were actually barking but of course, we did not suspect anything or linked up the barking of the dogs to any extraordinary occurrence.
“Unknown to me and I guess the rest of the family, the abductors were already at our neighbour’s house, which was not far from mine. They spent a lot of time there because it took them time to gain access to his house.
“I was not alone in the house. We were five in all, but they came for me. The kidnappers surrounded my house with each window being mounted by gunmen. They could not gain access through the entrance and exit doors. So, they broke through one of the windows in the kitchen to access my house.
“About 12 of them picked me up at my house. While the operation lasted, a group of them was busy parking foodstuff in the store. Another group was flashing torch light to see who and who were still in the room. That was how they forced me out, allowing me a few minutes to wear my jeans and a T-shirt.
“When they ordered me out, I saw my neighbour, sitting down with pointed guns all around him.” For seven unbroken hours, they trekked to the heart of the forest.
“They were tactical in their movement. At the end of that long distance, we reached our supposed destination.
“Around 8 pm, on Friday, we resumed another long walk. We trekked for so long. That was the longest walk of my life. For almost 10 hours, we were trekking in the thick forest.
“We moved, we stopped, and moved again. As we were moving, the kidnappers parted themselves into three fronts, some were ahead of us, some were with us and some were behind us.
“We were in their den for a long tortuous week, fed with foodstuffs they stole from our homes. They had taken a can of palm oil and a packet of seasoning from my neighbour’s home.
“In my house, they stole a bag of rice and a bag of corn flour. These were the foods they cooked for us and we ate, though the food was not delicious or cooked in a hygienic environment.
“The ring leaders were all Fulani. But it seemed they were aided by some local/home boys, who served as their informants. Sometimes, after they had been intoxicated with Indian hemp, they gossiped about their exploits and adventure.
“We heard them mention that they were recruited from Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger states to kidnap targets in Jalingo. The youngest of them was just 17. He told me he has killed nine people so far. The oldest should be around 35 years.
“But when we got to the bush, we discovered that they were many because they were running shifts. That was how they were coming and going, morning and night. When it was time to sleep, they would chain our legs.
“It was a very horrible experience. It was a very traumatic experience. I don’t wish my enemy that seven days of experience I had with these guys.
“They thought I was a millionaire and over-priced me. I told them I was a teacher. They told me that they were confidently informed that I was a millionaire worth between N60 and 200 million. I soberly pleaded with them to check their facts about me and my worth again.
“They said they were going to start the negotiation with N60 million. I restated that I was a teacher and had never seen that kind of money all my life. I asked them to look for the informant and ask him about my status in the society, that was how they left my immediate position.
“They came back two days after and told me they had confirmed that I was a teacher. They said even at that, I was still going to pay for my freedom.
“They asked me, ‘how much do you have?’ I said N500,000. The moment I said that all of them left me, insisting that I was not serious. The following day, they returned and threatened to kill me. They said I should call my wife but I didn’t have my phone. They then requested my wife’s phone number, which I dictated to them.
“In all the places we were taken to, there were telecom networks. They called her and handed the phone to me. After we talked, they collected the phone and told her that if she wanted to see me alive, she should compose herself and raise the money.
“The negotiation from N60 million was reduced to N27 million eventually. They said the person that gave them the information wanted them to kill me after the ransom was paid.
“Within that negotiation window, I observed that the same person that contacted them to kidnap me has been using other armed groups to kidnap people in Jalingo. They mentioned his name and asked if I knew him. I told them I didn’t know him.
“At the end of the day, we settled for N13 million. That time was difficult because we had no money. I asked my wife and my brother to sell my car and my landed property to raise the ransom.
“With that at hand, my friends were able to raise this needed money. My tribal organisation did so much to secure my release. Non-governmental organisations like Spaces for Change, Centre for Transparency and Advocacy and other civil society groups lent their voices by meeting with the highest authority to ensure my release.
“People prayed for my release as far as Gombe State. In Churches and in Mosques, prayers were said on my behalf. I saw the hand of God in my release. I saw the victory of good over evil. My abductors were confused and started quarrelling among themselves over minor issues.
“They complained that their houses have been burnt by government and their cows are rustled, their parents killed and their women assaulted and they have nowhere to stay except in the bush.
“They said they were hiring the ammunition before. They boasted that in all their operations, no policeman has ever come to rescue anybody until after they had gone. They said it was only the hunters, soldiers and vigilance groups that had tackled them.
“My wife, children, brothers and my world were traumatized in a manner that words cannot describe. But in the end, I was released unhurt. To God be the glory!”
