Abducted Law Student Clarifies: “We were kidnapped by Tiv people, not Fulani”
David Obiora, a law student who was among a group kidnapped on July 26, 2025, has contradicted widespread assumptions, stating that their abductors were Tiv indigenes from Benue State, not Fulani.
In an interview, Obiora also disputed the Nigeria Police Force’s claim that security operatives rescued him and five other students.
Obiora, a student at the Nigerian Law School’s Yola campus, explained that the group was abducted while traveling from Onitsha to Yola on the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway. The group consisted of six law students, the driver, three other passengers, and a woman on holiday.
He recounted the incident: “We were kidnapped around 9 p.m. on the 26th of July. The incident happened between Zakibiam and Mukari, near a town called Jootar. We were taken 20 kilometers into the bush by about ten armed men, four wielding AK-47 rifles, the others with machetes and daggers.”
READ ALSO: Six law students abducted in Benue regain freedom
The kidnappers drove the bus into the bush until it became stuck, then called for reinforcements. After more members arrived on motorcycles, the victims were moved deeper into the forest.
There, they met four other captives: a non-teaching staff member from Federal University Wukari, a youth corps member named Dauda Wisdom, a pastor, and another unidentified man. The group was held for six days before being released. Each victim paid a ₦10 million ransom.
Obiora emphasised that the victims were not rescued by authorities. “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.”
According to Obiora, the kidnappers were primarily Tiv-speaking locals, with possibly one or two silent Fulani accomplices. He stated their leader’s name is Matthew, who he believes is a “dismissed soldier or a deserter.” Obiora said the other kidnappers spoke Tiv and were from the same community where they were held.
READ ALSO: Bandits abduct 6 law students travelling to Adamawa, demand ₦120m ransom
He painted a harrowing picture of life in the kidnappers’ camp, where children as young as 2 or 3 played with guns, and women from the community cooked for both the victims and their captors. “Children as young as 2 to 3 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.”
One of the kidnappers, named David, told the victims he had been in the business for nine years and was a wanted man. Another, Matthew, boasted of having a “juju” man in Kano who provided him with spiritual protection.
Recounting the moment of the abduction, Obiora said, “When they hijacked our bus, my initial thought was that it was Fulani, as usual. But their dialect and appearance confirmed they were Tiv. I was scared. It was my first experience, and I thought we would be killed. But they assured us they wouldn’t kill us.”
He continued, “When we met the earlier abductees, they had been there for 22 days and also confirmed the captors don’t kill.
That was when my mind calmed down. Still, the conditions were terrible. We ate only once a day, and the food was unhealthy. We drank muddy water, the kind you wouldn’t use to wash a car. We were being cooked for by the ladies in the community.”
After their release, the victims trekked for hours through the bush from Benue into Taraba.
They eventually found their way to a restaurant near a motor park, where they spent the night before a transport company manager helped them continue their journey to Yola.
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