A new couple and 35 other people kidnapped by bandits in Katsina State have regained freedom from the captivity of their abductors.
The other victims were mostly women and children abducted from Unguwar Malamai community in Yantumaki District and Babban Duhu village in Danmusa and Safana Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.
Their release on Friday followed the return of 104 other kidnapped victims whose release was secured by the state government, in collaboration with the security agencies and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association.
The newlyweds were kidnaped by bandits on December 28, 2020, at Runka Community in Safana LGA.
The new bride, Farida Sani, narrated how she was kidnapped and her 11-day experience in captivity.
She said;
When the bandits attacked our town about two weeks ago, they met me inside my bedroom. Upon their arrival, they first burgled my apartment and took me away with my husband.
During our stay, they were beating my husband and his male counterparts, but they did not touch me. The place where they kept us was not a room but an open space filled with grasses.
The new set of returnees were received at the Government House on Friday by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa.
In his address, Dr Inuwa urged them not to allow their experience to weigh them down but should remain prayerful.
He also urged them to continue to support the security agencies in the ongoing onslaught against the menace of banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling in the state.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Ibrahim Katsina, noted that the recent development has brought the total number of kidnapped persons released to 141.
He explained that the returnees would be rehabilitated as they had gone through a lot of trauma, adding that they would be reintegrated into the society thereafter.
Katsina said;
Medical doctors have also been brought in to examine the health status of the victims and psychologists will also talk to them and by extension, the state government will give them some palliatives to start life in a better way.
