Survivors of the mass abduction in Kurmin Wali village said Thursday they survived weeks in the forest eating raw flour mixed with water and sleeping outdoors, after armed men seized 183 people during church services.
“They fed us with raw corn flour just four times. We mixed it with water to have something in our stomach,” a female survivor who held her baby told journalists, adding that captors seized phones and “constantly threatened” them.
Another survivor described violence inside captivity.
“My worst moment was when they flogged my husband and other men. We cried and feared for their lives,” she said, before thanking security forces for their rescue.
Kaduna Governor Uba Sani received the freed victims at the Government House and gave an account of the rescues. “Altogether, the number is 183. We would not be sitting here today if even one person was still missing,” he said, noting that 11 were released earlier and hospitalised, 83 regained freedom days ago, and 89 were rescued on Wednesday.
Sani thanked President Bola Tinubu and security agencies, saying, “When this unfortunate incident occurred, we immediately mobilised all security agencies and relevant stakeholders to ensure the safe return of our people.”
He said the state has asked for a military base near the Kajuru–Kachia axis and promised road, hospital and skills-centre projects for Kurmin Wali.
Officials said the rescued will receive medical checks and psychosocial care before returning home.
Rights groups and church leaders called for a full investigation and stronger protection for remote communities along the Kaduna-Abuja corridor.
