By ABDULSAMAD TERI

No fewer than 15 people kidnapped by bandits in Sokoto State have escaped from the custody of their abductors, sources said on Monday.

One of them, a technical official working with a firm managing telecommunications mast in Isa Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, was abducted two weeks ago.

A source close to the victim said he was forcefully taken by armed men between Isa and Sabon Birni LGAs on his way to check a faulty telecommunication mass.

Narrating how the victim escaped, he said he tricked one of the kidnappers who was asked to guard him that he wanted to ease himself while the other members of the gang had gone in search of other victims to be kidnapped.

He said the criminal unchained the victim who then engaged his captor in a fight, overpowered him and ran out of the den to a safe location within Isa town. He later found his way to a safe location.

The chairman of Isa LGA, Abubakar Yusuf, also confirmed the escape of 14 other abducted people to reporters, saying the victims are receiving medical attention in a medical facility in the town.

Locals said the victims escaped from a camp of bandits loyal to kidnap kingpin Bello Turji responsible for the series of attacks in the eastern senatorial district of Sokoto and parts of Zamfara State.

The chairman said 11 of the escaped victims were from Sokoto while the remaining were from Zamfara.

When contacted, the spokesman for the Sokoto State Police Command, Sanusi Abubakar, did not answer the calls put through his mobile line seeking police confirmation on the development. (Channels TV)

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