By Reuben Buhari for Stonix News
A woman who endured the unthinkable during six months of captivity in Nigeria’s kidnap-riddled north has finally been freed – but not before tragedy struck in the most heartbreaking of circumstances.
The woman, whose identity is being withheld for her safety, was released on Saturday alongside her three surviving daughters, having spent 180 days in the hands of her abductors.
She was pregnant when she was taken, along with four-year-old Christy and two other girls aged six and 12.
It was during those dark months that she gave birth in the kidnappers’ den, with another captive forced to use her teeth to sever the umbilical cord.
That child, tragically, died after just three weeks.
Now free, the mother and her children emerged from the bush on Saturday – but Christy, the youngest, was gravely ill.
Her eyes and legs were swollen, and she could no longer walk.
And so began an agonising journey to freedom.
The mother carried Christy on her back. When exhaustion overtook her, the 12-year-old girl took over.
Both were weak, emaciated and barefoot, yet they pressed on, swapping the dying child between them as they trudged through the wilderness.
Darkness fell, and they slept in the bush. At dawn, they continued.
It was during that morning’s march that four-year-old Christy died.
They did not stop. They could not.
They continued with her lifeless body on their backs, still taking turns when one grew too tired to carry on. At one point, the mother was so weakened that the 12-year-old alone bore her dead sister upon her back – walking for hours until they finally reached a village in Kachia Local Government Area on Sunday afternoon.
There, locals came to their rescue. From there, they were moved to another village where they are now receiving medical care to stabilise them before being transported to Kaduna.
But their ordeal is far from over.
The remaining Ariko victims – including the 11 kidnapped from Awon village – remain in the hands of their captors. Most, like these survivors, are reported to be severely emaciated.
“Pray for them, please,” a source close to the victims pleaded.
The Nigerian authorities have yet to comment on the latest development or on efforts to secure the release of those still being held.
