The Niger state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mohammed Idris, has described his release by his abductors as “a miracle,” saying that he was kept for 48 hours without food before the bandits gave him bread and water.
The commissioner disclosed this in Minna while speaking with journalists on his ordeal in the hands of the bandits.
“The bandits broke all available security doors in my house and took me to no-man’s land. They tied my hands and legs wanting to break me up. They did not give me food for 48 hours after which I was given bread and water,” he said.
The commissioner said further that the first two days were like hell to him as the bandits continued to beat and de-humanise him, adding, however, that he continued to preach to them.
“At a point the bandits began to reduce their hard stance on me. We slept in the rains; however, they would give me a tarpaulin to cover myself while they slept in the rains.
“The bandits said they regarded me as high-profile kidnap. They said that they mobilised their best men for the operation. No ransom was paid to the bandits for my release; it was a miracle of God because the bandits just asked me to go and re-unite with my family.”
