The kidnap victim said she handed over her life to God before attempting to escape. A woman identified as Lucy Jeremiah, who was kidnapped by a nine-man kidnap gang in Plateau State, has narrated how she fought the gunmen to escape from the bush where she was held captive.
Jeremiah recalled that she was traveling alongside three other people in a vehicle to Jos, Plateau State, from Abuja, on Thursday, December 16, 2022, when the assailants intercepted them.
The traumatic victim, who was recuperating at the Plateau State Police Command Headquarters, stated that she handed her life over to God before she summoned the courage to fight the kidnappers.
She said, “What happened was that we were coming back from Abuja to Jos in a vehicle last Thursday. On getting to the Government Science School, Kuru, in the Jos South LGA of Plateau State around 6 pm, though I was sleeping in the vehicle, I woke up when the vehicle suddenly stopped. When I woke up, I saw a man wielding a gun. He opened the door and said we should give him our phones.
“He collected all our phones and money. He thereafter selected four of us in the vehicle and marched us into the bush. The kidnappers, numbering nine, asked us to call our parents on the phone and demanded N5 million each. After we made the calls, they took us farther into the bush, and out of the four people, I was the only female among them.”
According to the kidnap victim, they went deep into the bush, and as they were going, she suggested an escape plan to others, but they were afraid.
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Her words: “They said they could not do anything because they were not with any weapon to fight the kidnappers, who were with a gun, a knife, and other weapons.
“By this time, some of the kidnappers, who were initially nine, had left, leaving four of them with us.
“As we marched deeper into the bush, two of the four kidnappers were trailing behind, while two others with the gun and knives were leading us in front.
“At this time, I told my co-traveler victims that we should do something and that I will not follow the kidnappers any farther into the bush to wherever they were taking us and that God would be in control. I also told them what to do as I suggested to them that I would be the first person to grab the kidnapper carrying the gun they should come to my assistance if anything happened and that was what I did.
“So, when I grabbed the kidnapper with the gun, the other kidnapper holding a knife rushed forward and wanted to stab me in the stomach. But as I turned, he missed his target ….”
Jeremiah couldn’t continue her stole as she broke down in tears and wept profusely.
Confirming the incident, Plateau Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Alabo Alfred revealed that the other victims have been rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment alongside Jeremiah.
