A 10-year old girl, Hali­ma Falalu-Umar of Dumbin Rauga of Dutsen Anna in Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, has narrated how she and others escaped from their abductors’ den in the night.

The girl, while narrating her experience to journalists, disclosed that they escaped in the night while it was raining heavily.

She revealed that it became possible for them to escape as the guard assigned to guard them fell asleep.

Halima said shortly af­ter leaving the den together with some other abducted children, they met someone along the way who asked them where they were going in the night and they lied to him that some people freed them and left them stranded.

According to her, the man insisted to know if they ran away from any camp and the children maintained their position.

She said the man took them to a different place where they spent the night and in the morning it was raining they continued trekking towards the nearest village with the help of the man.

She narrated that “While trekking in the rain, one of us Bashir collapsed and had to be carried by one of us and we continued trekking with the help of the man until we saw a mobile network mast.

She said, “The man stopped and told us to walk towards the direction of the mobile network mast and we will see people who will take us to the nearest village.”

Halima said while mov­ing towards the mast as ad­vised, they came across an over-flooded stream due to the rainfall which forced them to stay for sometime till it sub­sided.

She disclosed that after crossing the stream and mov­ing towards the mast, some good Samaritans guided them to Sabon Birni village head’s house.

The 10-year-old girl dis­closed that the abductors lived with their families at the camp with their children.

She said they met other victims at the camp, mostly adults, including a bride and her friends, a lactating moth­er and her baby and many oth­ers who were tied in different groups.

“We were not tied like the adults; they allowed us to min­gle with their children before or after they return from cat­tle rearing,” she said.

(Adapted from Daily Independent)