At least 163 Nigerians held captive by jihadi militants for six months have been freed, with survivors describing weeks of starvation, beatings, and death in forest hideouts.
The freed captives were part of a larger group of over 300 kidnap victims rescued by Nigerian forces this week. They were handed over to authorities in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state, on Friday for medical attention and routine checks. Most were women and children.
In the hospital where they received care, the freed captives looked emaciated. Many were laying on the floor, barely able to stand. Others had injuries and emotional scars. Some of the women were informed that their husbands had been killed during the original attack.
Mary Ishaya, 44, recalled days without food and being forced alongside others to bury hostages who had died in captivity. "I still cannot find the right words to describe what has happened to us. We saw death and suffering," she said.
The captives were abducted on Feb. 3 when militants stormed the village of Woro, killing more than 160 people during the raid. Locals said they believed the attack was a punishment for resisting the preachings of the jihadi group. Hauwa Saliu, 30, whose husband was killed in the attack, said the captors repeatedly asked whether the hostages had accepted those teachings. She said she refused.
"We prayed to God to help us go back home, but it never really crossed our minds that we were going to go back home," she said.
Amira Saliu, a nurse among those freed, said she helped deliver babies for roughly 10 pregnant women while held in the forest. "I had no choice but to use my bare hands," she said.
The captives were told to hide whenever Nigerian military helicopters flew overhead. Some people fell sick. Others gave up hope of survival.
The February attack was described by the Associated Press as one of the deadliest in Nigeria in recent years. It also illustrated how militants who had previously concentrated their activities in the country's north are pushing south into new territory. Nigeria's security forces are overstretched, and gangs continue to compete for control of natural resources and villages across the country.
The United States is providing military support to Nigeria under an agreement described as aimed at protecting Nigerian Christians, though most of that support is limited to logistics.
