Last victim of Kaduna Baptist school kidnapping escapes captivity — after 2 years

Treasure Ayuba, the last victim of the Bethel Baptist High School kidnapping in Kaduna state, has escaped from captivity. 

The 13-year-old Ayuba returned home on Thursday at about 4pm.

Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Kaduna chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the news on Friday.

On July 5, 2021, bandits invaded the school and abducted 121 students.

The bandits had released the students in batches after freeing the first set of 28 on July 25, 2021.

The bandits reportedly collected a ransom of N100m.

Following the release of the 28 students, the bandits were said to have demanded another N80m as ransom for the remaining students.

In January 2022, Hayab had said 120 abducted students of the school had been released.

“We are grateful to God for the escape of Treasure Ayuba, one of the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna on July 5, 2021,” Hayab said.

“When all hope seemed to be lost, God did His miracle.”

He said Ayuba’s parents immediately called him and handed over the boy to him.

Hayab said speculations that Ayuba was released by the bandits but refused to return home was not true.

“The boy looked healthy but he was vomiting after eating food so we took him to the hospital for medical examination,” Hayab said.

“I have interacted with him and he told me how he escaped from his captors.

“Contrary to speculations that the boy chose to live with the bandits, the true story is that his abductors decided that they will keep him as a reward to convert him to Islam, so that he could marry and raise Muslim children.

“Ayuba got to a town which he couldn’t  identify, but there was a bus looking for passengers going to Kaduna.

“He paid N6,000 as transport fare and got to Kaduna after over seven hours’ drive.

“He told me that since the bandits considered him as one of them, they allowed him free movement in their enclave.

“He told me that whenever the bandits were going on their operations, they left him at ‘home’

“He said they often give him some pocket money after their operations.

“He was the the youngest among those abducted, so they were treating him as a small child. They were calling him ‘smally’ and he was given special treatment.

“He was given two mobile telephones by his kidnappers but he couldn’t contact his parents or anybody because he had no one’s telephone number.”

Hayab quoted Ayuba as saying some of their captors were killed either during kidnapping operations or in airstrikes.