A recently freed student of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Francis Paul, has narrated his ordeal in the hands of bandits
Paul, a 200 level student, said their abductors fed them twice daily with spaghetti and fruits.
Recall that armed men had invaded the school in March and abducted 39 students but five of the captives were freed earlier in the week.
Speaking on Wednesday, Paul said on the day they were abducted, the bandits took them into the forest on motorcycles.
“The feeding was very poor, it was just God that was kept us till the day we were released. They gave us dirty water to drink and also fed us twice a day with spaghetti and fruits,” Paul who was one of five released students said.
“The food was not enough because we are many and they will drop it in one plate before you put your hand it has finished. We were all forced to sleep on the floor”.
He said the video released showing the students being beaten by the bandits was true “because the bandits said we should be beaten so that we can talk about the money they wanted from the government”.
‘They said if the government sees us being beaten they will be serious in sending the money.”
Asked if any of the females were raped or molested he said “No nobody was raped or molested“
Asked how he feels being released, he said “ I do feel happy that I’m released but when I think of my other colleagues I don’t feel happy because being there in the bush it is not fun and not nice. It’s just prayers to God that helped us because those people don’t know God.”
He also said that the bandits gave them a message to Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
“They asked us to tell the governor that they should pay them money if they want the remaining students to be released or they will hurt the students. This is the message they asked us to tell the Governor,” he said.
