“I called on Jesus and escaped” – Benue-Otukpo bus kidnapping survivor recounts terrifying experience

One of the 18 victims abducted while returning from writing their POST UTME has shared a terrifying account of how he escaped the ordeal in Otukpo, Benue State.

The incident comes amid reports that gunmen abducted passengers, including students travelling for the examination on Wednesday night.

According to the survivor, they were on their way back in a bus when they suddenly encountered five-armed men who blocked the road and forced everyone out of the vehicle.

Narrating his experience, he said:

“On our way back from writing Post UTME, we saw about five men on the road with guns and long knives. They stopped our vehicle, told us to come down, and started beating us. They were Fulani, speaking English to us and Hausa among themselves.”

He revealed that the attackers took them into a bush, where they were searched, robbed of their belongings, and beaten repeatedly while being moved between locations.

Amid the chaos and fear, he said he began praying quietly, even as others around him had lost hope due to exhaustion.

“I kept praying, ‘Jesus save me, oh Jesus save me.’ I thought to myself that since I was wearing black, they might not see me in the dark. I whispered to others that I wanted to escape, but they warned me not to try,” he added.

Driven by what he described as a strong inner push, he slowly distanced himself from the group before making a bold run for freedom.

He added that at some point, he had already lost hope of survival, believing that no one knew their whereabouts before he eventually escaped.

The survivor’s account has raised serious concerns over the safety of students travelling for examinations, as insecurity continues to affect several parts of the country.

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