A rescued National Youth Service Corps member, David Ayodele, has recounted the terrifying experience of being held by kidnappers in a Kogi forest, saying his captors threatened to keep the victims for a month before killing them.
Ayodele was among 15 NYSC members and six other abductees rescued on Monday after a coordinated operation by security agencies in Kogi State.
The 21 victims, comprising eight males and 13 females, were rescued from a kidnappers’ den in the forests of Ofu Local Government Area.
The corps members had been travelling from the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State towards Abuja after completing their orientation programme when armed men attacked their vehicles on August 26.
Speaking after his rescue, Ayodele said the kidnappers intercepted the vehicle and forced the passengers into the bush while firing shots into the air.
“Driver tried to escape, but he said, Who’s the driver? Who’s the driver?” Ayodele recounted, adding that the attackers eventually opened the vehicle and led the passengers into the forest.
He said the victims were beaten, kicked and forced to move deeper into the bush.
“Then we made our way to the bush with flogging and kicking and shouting and stuff,” he said.
The most frightening moment, according to Ayodele, came after the group reached a secluded area where the kidnappers told them they would remain in captivity for a month.
“We reached one kind of bushy area; they asked us to sit down… that we would be here for one month, so they would kill all of us,” he said.
The abductors also warned the victims not to move without permission.
“They warned us that if anybody moved without permission that they will shoot the person,” Ayodele said, explaining that fear kept the victims from attempting to escape.
The corps member said the captives were subsequently moved repeatedly through the forest before troops eventually located them.
“So we moved a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot and then thank God the Nigerian Army came to meet us,” he said.
The Defence Headquarters confirmed that the 21 victims were rescued from the Egume-Ochaja forest stretch within the military’s 2 Division area of operation.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Michael Onoja, said the rescued group included 15 NYSC members.
President Bola Tinubu said the rescue operation involved the military, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and local vigilantes.
He said the victims were receiving medical attention before being reunited with their families, while security forces continued pursuing the fleeing abductors.
The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of corps members travelling between orientation camps and their places of primary assignment, particularly on vulnerable inter-state highways.
For Ayodele and the other survivors, the immediate priority is recovery after days of captivity. Security agencies, however, still face the task of tracking down those responsible for the attack and preventing similar incidents along the route.
