‘I thought they would kill us’: One of the freed law students, Obiorah, narrates ordeal in kidnappers’ den

David Obiorah, one of the six Nigerian law school students that was recently released after they were abducted by kidnappers along Benue-Taraba boundary, revealed while narrating his ordeal that he thought the kidnappers were going to kill them.

He said after the kidnappers intercepted their bus, they took control and drove the bus inside the bush. As their apprehension grew the kidnappers told them (victims) that they don’t kill people, but they will beat them every day.

Obiorah said, “I thought they were going to kill us when they drove our bus into the bush. I was so scared. Later, they told us they don’t kill people. But every day, they beat us.

Obiorah narrated that one of the students among them was released earlier without a ransom was because he looked very much younger than them and the kidnappers said he looked like a minor.

He also claimed that they were not rescued by the Nigerian police, nor did the Nigerian law school rescue them. He said each of them paid N10 million for their freedom.

The students were abducted on Saturday, July 26, 2025, along the Benue-Taraba boundary while travelling from Anambra State to the Nigerian Law School campus in Yola, Adamawa State.

Upon their release almost a week after their abduction, the Benue State Police Command via a statement its Public Relations Officer Udeme Edet issued, credited the achievement of the students’ freedom to themselves.

That arrogation drawn objection from Obiorah who told Punch: “For the record, the Nigeria Police did not rescue us. The Nigerian Law School did not rescue us. Each of us paid N10m for our release.”

He also recounted the ordeals they endured in the kidnappers’ den, which he said is a small village, adding that the gang leader has the make-up of a soldier.

“They flogged us with tree stems. They served us rice made with palm oil. The rice resembled amala, mixed with red oil. It was horrible. We also drank muddy water.

“The women (in the village) cooked for us, but they only gave us food once a day. The same food they ate. The villagers were aware of everything that was happening. Whenever they brought us out, small children would look at us.

“Their leader, Matthew, looked like a soldier. We saw other villagers moving about normally. It was as if the entire community was complicit,” he said.