Those who abducted us spoke Tiv — Law school student alleges after regaining freedom

A Nigerian Law School student, David Obiora, who was kidnapped alongside others on July 26 2025, has said that the individuals who abducted them spoke the Tiv language.  He said they were not rescued by security operatives as claimed by the Nigeria Police. In a WhatsApp interview with Vanguard, Obiora recounted the harrowing experience, refuting police reports that he and five other law students were rescued in Benue State. Obiora, a student at the Nigerian Law School in Yola, explained that they were kidnapped along the Zakibiam Mukari Expressway after boarding a company transport vehicle from Onitsha en route to Yola. He said We were six law students in the bus with the driver, three other passengers heading to Cameroon, and a woman, who works in Anambra State, who was going on holiday to Yola. We were kidnapped about 9 p.m. on July 26. The incident happened between Zakibiam and Mukari near a town called Jootar. We were taken 20 kilometres into the bush by about 10 armed men, four wielding AK-47 rifles, the others with machetes and daggers. They drove the bus deep into the bush until it got stuck. They then called for reinforcement and more members arrived on motorcycles. We were moved deeper into the forest before arriving at a halt where we met four other victims a non-teaching staff of Federal University Wukari a youth corps member named Dauda Wisdom a pastor who had just undergone surgery in Benue State and another unidentified man. We were held for six days before we were released after each of us paid N10 million in ransom. He stressed Let the record be clear the Nigeria Police did not rescue us. The Law School did not rescue us. The Council of Legal Education did not rescue us. We were released after our families and friends raised and paid the ransom. Obiora further revealed that the kidnappers spoke Tiv and possibly included one or two silent Fulani accomplices. He said Their boss is named Matthew. He is either a dismissed soldier or a deserter. All the others spoke Tiv that is their language. They are from the same community where we were held. It seems the entire community has been overpowered or subdued. No one dares speak out. Children as young as two to three years old were playing with guns in front of us. The bandits cocked their rifles in front of these children like it was normal. We were even brought out in the open where these kids could see us. Their wives were the ones cooking for us fetching water for us mud water. The same food we ate was what the kidnappers ate too. According to Obiora one of the kidnappers also named David claimed to have been in the kidnapping business for over nine years. He said He told us he has not been home in years. He claimed to have bought a Highlander SUV and another car for his wife who now drives both. His children are in school and live well. But he cannot furnish or visit his own house because he is a wanted man. He said they are already marked and just doing the business until they are caught. Matthew their boss on the other hand told us he has a juju man in Kano who gives him spiritual protection. He said the army cannot kill him unless it is the day God says he will die. He believed the juju man would subdue any army that came after him. Obiora described the terrifying moment of their abduction saying When they hijacked our bus my initial thought was that it was Fulani as usual. But their dialect and appearance confirmed that most of them were not. I was scared. It was my first experience and I thought we would be killed but they assured us they would not kill us. When we met the earlier abductees they had been there for 22 days and also confirmed the captors do not kill. That was when my mind calmed down. The conditions were terrible. We ate only once a day and the food was unhealthy. We drank muddy water the kind you would not use to wash a car. We were being cooked for by the ladies in the community. After their release Obiora said the victims trekked for hours through dense bush paths from Benue into Taraba eventually arriving at a restaurant near a motor park where they spent the night. The next day they contacted a transport company manager who assisted them in continuing their journey to Yola.The post Those who abducted us spoke Tiv Law school student alleges after regaining freedom appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.