Three men who were abducted by terrorists in Shapai and Igu Tsauni communities in Munya local government area of Niger state have escaped from their abductors.

The men were among the 26 villagers abducted two weeks ago when the terrorists raided their communities.

Describing how they escaped, the victims said that the heavy rainfall on Wednesday night made it possible for them to escape.

One of the abductees, a timber dealer, who was simply identified as Chukuwdi, said that they were being moved from the temporary camps of the terrorists located along Mangoro to a permanent camp in Kaduna.

He said that the rainfall which was very heavy made movement difficult especially as the abductees were tied together to stop them from escaping.

Chukuwdi noted: “They kept us at the river bank because we could not cross due to the volume of the water. Even though we were tied together to stop us from escaping, God made it possible for us to escape.”

The escapee explained that the remaining victims were women and children and it was not possible for them to escape along with them especially as they were not tied together.

He added: “We ran and ran and trekked in some places all through the night and inside the rain so that we would not be caught in case they wanted to come after us. We were able to arrive at a village in the morning at about 4 a.m. today (Thursday).

“Our escape was a miracle, it was God because the decision to escape was a difficult one especially as they threatened to shoot anyone who escaped but when we saw that the rain was very heavy, we told ourselves that we could use the opportunity of the rain to escape and God made it possible for us.”

Chukuwdi said that the three of them were from different places but were abducted by the terrorists and brought together.

He said that because the three of them who escaped were Igbos, the terrorists demanded their families to pay the ransom of N5 million each while the other victims were asked to pay N1 million each before they could regain their freedom.

Recounting how they lived for two weeks in captivity, Chukuwdi said that sometimes they were left without food for days and they were told that their bodies would be abandoned if they died. (The Nation)

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