Ishaya Kukah, brother to the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, on Tuesday recounted his harrowing experience in the hands of bandits who had held him and others captive.

Mr Kukah spoke with journalists on Tuesday when NSA Nuhu Ribadu and defence minister Badaru Abubakar handed over 60 rescued victims to their families in Abuja.

He said he had given up hope of surviving before he was rescued by the troops of the 1 Division Nigerian Army in Kaduna.

“Frankly speaking, I had already given up. I didn’t think I would come out alive because of how they (bandits) were treating us in the bush.

“We suffered too much. They (bandits) used to chain us in twos. If you wanted to defecate or urinate, you had to move together,” said Mr Kukah.

Mr Kukah said the victims were pressured into agreeing to ransom demands due to the torture they endured.

“If they notice you are reluctant, they will beat or even kill you. If not for the federal government, we would still be in the bush. Thank you for what you have done. God bless you,” he said.

Another rescued victim, Adesanya Michael, a deputy director at the National Assembly Commission, who was abducted from his residence in Kubwa, Abuja, advocated for a non-combative approach to tackling banditry.

He said the bandits, mostly aged between 17 and 21, were stark illiterates and victims of circumstance.

“I was chained for 32 days. Most of them can’t even count up to a million. They don’t know what they’re doing.

“Instead of killing them, the government should arrest, educate, and rehabilitate them. Some of them want to learn trades. They can still be useful,” Mr Michael said.

Mr Michael, who was kidnapped on January 26 and released on April 7, said his wife was killed in his presence.

“When they kill someone in front of you, you will give them anything they want. They killed my wife before me,” said Mr Michael. “In that moment, if they asked for my head, I would have given it.”

(NAN)