By Adenike Lawal
David Obiora, a Nigerian Law School student from the Yola Campus, has revealed that his recent abductors were Tiv-speaking men, not Fulani, as earlier reports claimed.
Obiora was one of six students kidnapped on July 26, 2025, while traveling from Onitsha to Yola.
In a WhatsApp interview with Vanguard, he contradicted police claims that they were rescued, insisting they were freed after each paid ₦10 million in ransom.
“We were not rescued. We were released after paying ₦10 million each,” he said.
The abduction happened around 9 p.m. along the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway near Jootar in Benue State.
Obiora said ten armed men, four with AK-47s and others with machetes and daggers ambushed their company vehicle and drove them into a forest where it eventually got stuck.
Reinforcements later arrived on motorcycles and led the victims deeper into the bush.
There, they joined four earlier captives: a university staff member, a corps member, a recovering pastor, and another unidentified man.
Obiora said the kidnappers, who spoke fluent Tiv and knew the area well, operated openly and confidently.
“Their leader, Matthew, is either a former soldier or a deserter. The whole community seems to be under their control; no one reports them,” he said.
Although there were a few silent Fulani among the group, Obiora said the primary language spoken was Tiv.
The victims, he said, were held in harsh conditions, eating only once a day and drinking dirty water.
One abductor named David claimed he had been in the kidnapping business for nearly 10 years and used his proceeds to buy cars for his wife and pay school fees for his children.
“He said he couldn’t go home because he’s a marked man,” Obiora recalled.
The gang leader, Matthew, allegedly believed he had spiritual protection from a “juju man” in Kano and could not be killed by soldiers unless “ordained by God.”
Obiora admitted that, like many, he initially assumed the attackers were Fulani, but quickly realized otherwise from their dialect and appearance.
After six days in captivity, the hostages were released and made to trek through the forest to Taraba State. They later found shelter at a roadside restaurant near a motor park before continuing their journey to Yola with help from a transport company official.
