Terrorist commander proposed to marry me – Freed Abuja-Kaduna train passenger
Story from Saleh INUWA, Kano
A 21-year-old lady identified as Azurfa Lois John, one of the passengers who was abducted from a Kaduna-bound train, has narrated her 191 days ordeal in the terrorist’s camp.
Azurfa was among the remaining 23 passengers freed last week by the Nigerian Army.
It could be recalled that one of the top commanders of the terrorists was said to be in love with Azurfa and wanted to marry her.
Narrating her ordeal to journalists from her hospital bed in Kaduna, the Kaduna State University student said she has forgiven the terrorists.
She said the terrorists stormed the train in a commando-like style, shooting indiscriminately, and ordering everyone to go out.
According to her, they walked a distance that night before motorcycles came, and took them away and they journeyed for four days before arriving at the main camp that became their abode for six months.
“From the scene of the attack, I saw that the train just derailed, the terrorists entered the train, they started shooting sporadically and they asked us to go out. Then, the men were tied up, and they collected our phones, she narrated.
READ ALSO: Army secures release of last batch of kidnapped Abuja-Kaduna train passengers
“We walked a distance that night before bikes came. Then, they took us to where we spent that night. We journeyed for four days before we got to where they dropped us off, which is their main camp. We were there doing nothing, every day was just like a repetition of the previous day.”
Asked on how they were fed and treated by their captors, Azurfa said, “We cook in the morning and in the evening, so we eat twice a day.”
She confirmed that the terrorists actually bring medical doctors into the camp to treat sick abductees.
“Anytime we are sick, they bring drugs. The terrorists have medical doctors who come around to give medical care,” she said.
When asked about the plan to marry her off as disclosed by the negotiator, Azurfa said the terrorists’ commander picked her and proposed to marry her but she rejected the offer.
“Yes, it is true that one of the terrorist’s commanders picked and proposed to marry me but it was just an offer and I rejected it. Once you reject them, they don’t force people. I was not the only one the terrorists offered to marry. They would just ask you, ‘I want to marry you, I want to keep you and I want you to change your religion and convert to my religion.’ So, it is left for you to either agree or reject.”
Azurfa said that from day one of her captivity, she never knew that one day she would be free again.
“I was just praying, waiting for the day I will leave the camp,” she said, adding that news of leaving the terrorists’ camp came unexpected.
“The terrorists just came and asked us to start packing our things. I never knew I was going to come out. Even if I was going to come out, I knew it was going to take a while. So, I was just there praying to God, waiting for the day I would leave the camp.
“The news of our leaving the camp just came unexpectedly. The terrorists just came and asked us to start packing our things. The preparation took a week until the final day when they now asked us to move and handed us over to the Presidential Committee.
“Now that I am out, I have forgiven my abductors, as much as God forgives our sins too. All that happened are in my past now, the terrorists are in my past too, it is over now, I don’t have anything against them.”
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