Hassan Uthman, one of the recently freed Abuja-Kaduna train attack passengers, has narrated his ordeal after spending four months in the den of the kidnappers.
During an interview with the BBC Hausa on Tuesday, Uthman revealed that his relatives paid an undisclosed amount of money as ransom to facilitate his release.
Uthman claimed that his family had made attempts to secure his release earlier but they were stopped from paying ransom to the bandits by the government.
He said they were initially sleeping on the bare ground in the thick forest but later, they were provided with mats and when it rained, the terrorists erected makeshift shelters for them.
“We were seriously beaten as seen in the video and it is as a result of the failure to rescue us by the government. Because of the government’s attitude, they were angered and they thoroughly beat us. We were severely flogged and that was just the beginning. This makes me pity those that are still with them in the forest.”
“In terms of feeding, they fed us according to their capacity. At times, they even slaughtered cattle and sheep for us. Even day before yesterday they slaughtered a cow and we ate, we thank Allah.
“I couldn’t locate the forest we were taken, since the Federal government had failed to rescue us for the past 4 months, the international community should come in and rescue the remaining victims who were in a pitiable condition in the forest,” he said.
Uthman added, “Our relatives facilitated our release, they initially tried but government stopped them and now succeeded.
“I don’t know if they paid ransom or not, three of us are released today, the remaining in captivity are up to 40.”
