David Obiorah will never forget the five days he spent in the heart of a forest along the Benue-Taraba border — a stretch of road that turned from a travel route into a nightmare.
Obiorah, one of the six Nigerian Law School students kidnapped on Saturday, July 26, 2025, while traveling from Anambra to Yola campus, has now revealed chilling details of what really happened. And according to him, despite official claims, the police did not rescue them — they had to buy their own freedom.
“We paid ₦10 million each to be released. The Nigerian Police didn’t rescue us. Neither did the Law School,” Obiorah said over a phone call with PUNCH Metro.
He described how the kidnappers, about 10 in number, ambushed their vehicle and drove them into a deep, unfamiliar forest. When their vehicle broke down, motorcycles were used to ferry the students further into the jungle.
What followed were days of fear, pain, and helplessness.
“They flogged us every day with tree stems. We drank muddy water. They fed us once a day with something they called rice — it looked like amala soaked in red oil,” he said.
Huddled in a cramped hut with five other captives, Obiorah watched as a fellow student was released early because the kidnappers thought he looked like a minor.
But the remaining five? They had to each cough up ₦10 million.
One female captive was kept apart from the others — isolated in a different hut. Obiorah believes she was held by the gang leader, a man they called “Matthew,” who carried himself like a soldier. Only four of the ten kidnappers had guns, but the rest were armed with machetes and other sharp weapons.
Even more shocking, Obiorah said the kidnapping site wasn’t an isolated hideout — it was an entire village.
“Women in the village cooked for us. Elders and children moved freely. Everyone knew what was happening. Sometimes the children would come out just to stare at us.”
The trauma is still raw. Obiorah, who initially feared for his life, said the gang assured them they wouldn’t be killed — only to beat them daily instead. His voice trembled as he recalled the terror.
“I thought they were going to kill us when they first took us in. I was so scared. Every day we expected the worst.”
The group of students was finally released Thursday, August 1. But instead of celebration, their freedom only raises more questions — especially as the Benue State Police had publicly announced that security operatives “rescued” the students.
Obiorah’s account tells a different story. One that shines a harsh light on the harsh reality many Nigerians face: where the line between safety and danger is decided not by the law, but by a ransom fee.
