Nigeria kidnap victims escape ‘hellfire’ captivity, beaten, malnourished

Nigeria kidnap victims escape 'hellfire' captivity, beaten, malnourished In total, 308 individuals were freed in what the administration called the largest single-day rescue operation.

Key points

• After their village, Woro, was attacked by suspected jihadists, the patients were among 163 kidnapping victims rescued in August in the Kainji Lake National Park forest.
• He has been shuttling between Woro and Ilorin, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) away, to check on the victims while they recover under administration care in the State capital.
• Suspected jihadists attacked Woro, near the border with Benin, in February, killing at least 165 individuals and kidnapping scores.
• Thirteen individuals from Woro died in captivity, he stated, and 13 more remain in captivity.
• Despite the scale of the tragedy, Woro is coming back to life, a resident, Isah Mogaji, informed AFP, with the village market in full swing.

As students remain in the custody of their captors in Askira-Uba, Borno State, Nigeria, August 20, 2026, parents of abducted students hold placards during a protest calling for the release of their children. Photo Credit: Reuters.

Frail and malnourished children and women lay on rows of hospital beds, their bodies bearing the scars of six months of captivity deep in the Nigerian bush.

In total, 308 individuals were freed in what the administration called the largest single-day rescue operation. But at the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital in Ilorin, a long road to recovery lay ahead.

Meanwhile, a child lay beneath a blue sheet, hooked to a respirator, with doctors and nurses clustered around the bed. A sobbing girl, no more than six years old, sat alone on a bed, her family yet to visit.

"They are all responding to treatments, " a nurse remarked, holding the tiny hand of a young boy concerning four years old. "Some of them still need blood."

Abductions have become a key moneymaker for criminal groups in Nigeria, especially among jihadists and non-ideological bandit groups throughout the north and centre of the country.

Notably, the victims were kept at a camp along with more than 100 others seized from other villages, including Kasuwan Daji and Konkoso, both in Niger state, Woro village head Umar Bio Salihu informed AFP.

Interviews with victims in the hospital were brief and stymied by authorities who repeatedly bounced AFP journalists between different offices to seek approval.

For context, the administration has touted the rescue of the Woro villagers as a major success in its campaign. But it still faces a crisis as kidnappings have become so rampant nationwide that they have become a multi-million-dollar industry, according to SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based consultancy.

"We thank God we are out, " remarked one gaunt victim, Hajara. "I do not wish that on even my enemies. It was like we just came back from hellfire."

While being held by the gunmen, the captives were fed tuwo, a thick, porridge-like meal created from guinea corn, and a "soup" produced from a mixture of river water and salt. When they were lucky, their captors offered them seasoning cubes. Occasionally they obtained beef, from cattle they assume was rustled.

"When they came, they were quite bad. Severe malnutrition, lots of skin diseases, some had fractures, some mothers had just delivered, " the hospital chief medical director, Ahmed Bola Abdulkadir, informed AFP, adding that numerous need care for "psychological trauma".

While in captivity, those who went to relieve themselves without the guards' permission were beaten, remarked 25-year-old nurse Amira Salihu, whose two brothers were killed during the February attack.

Notably, the daughter of the Woro village head's gentle smile belied her harrowing experience as she spoke to AFP from a hotel – guarded by police – where some freed abductees were staying.

More than a dozen women went into labour while in captivity, Amira Salihu remarked. With little visibility – battery-powered torches being the only sources of light – she supported to deliver the babies using her bare hands.

"I borrowed a razor blade to cut the placenta, " she informed AFP. At the hotel, scores of the victims, mostly young children, noisily gathered around plastic tables in a hall for lunch.

"I am happy seeing them like this, " Umar Bio Salihu, the village head, informed AFP.

"The community is very happy now, " village head Salihu remarked. "They are waiting to receive their people."

For now, nigeria kidnap victims escape 'hellfire' captivity, beaten, malnourished remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.