A few days after regaining freedom, a pupil of Abayi International Secondary School, who was among those abducted by kidnappers in Aba, Abia State, has said that he saw their captors, bury a large quantity of arms and ammunition in the forest.
The pupil, who spoke with PUNCH METRO, explained that the kidnappers buried over 60 containers of bullets in the bush close to where they were kept.
“The people (kidnappers) buried 60 gallons (containers) of arms and ammunition in the forest before they ran away. They were afraid of the soldiers. So, they ran away,” he said.
The pupil, one of the oldest among those abducted on September 27, 2010, said they were fed with noddles throughout their captivity.
According to him, some women were always around to prepare their meals.
Although he said those who held them captive for about four days did not torture them, they all missed their parents, friends and teachers.
The pupil, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety, said, “The kidnappers thought the soldiers were coming to the bush. They (kidnappers) were afraid of the soldiers. They showed us a road in the bush and when we followed the road, we met the soldiers.
“They (kidnappers) were always moving from one place to the other with guns. We were all scared when we saw them always holding guns. We thought they were going to kill us. We all cried and prayed to God to save us.”
One of the teachers in the school told our correspondent in a telephone interview that some of the schoolchildren had recounted their experience in the hands of the kidnappers.
The teacher said the kidnappers told the schoolchildren that they had gone into kidnapping and armed robbery because government had refused to provide employment for them.
Some of the parents expressed gratitude to God for their children’s freedom.
One of the parents, Mr. Afonne Israel, said life became meaningless when he got wind of the kidnap of his four children.
“We prayed for many hours and called on God to free our children. We are happy that our prayers were answered,” Isreal said.
Also, another parent, Mr. Aroyehun Joseph, said he was elated when he was told that the his children had been released hale and hearty.
“The God we serve will not disappoint you if you serve him. We thank Him for wading into the situation,” Joseph, who whose two children among those kidnapped, added.
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