The Ransom Dealers

The Ransom Demand

Chioma had been in the camp with other female captives for three days now. These three days were the most horrible she had ever endured in her entire life. She did not wish such horror to be visited even on her worst enemy.

Many times she had almost given up, but her faith in God kept her going. She remembered the story of Daniel in the lion's den.

When he was thrown into the lions' den, Daniel never once lost faith in his God. The king had said to Daniel, 'May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!'

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him.

In the morning when the king came to the locked den, he called out to Daniel.

“Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

He was shocked to hear Daniel’s clear voice, “O king, live forever!”, he said.

“My God sent His angel to shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me. Nor against you Oh king, have I done no hurt”.

The king gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

As long as she continued to trust in God, and she was also innocent, she believed God would save her from these monsters the way He saved Daniel from the lions. Just keep the faith, she told herself.

The time was 11pm, and the camp was very dark. She was lying down in one of the thatched huts with six other female captives. From what she had been able to observe these past three days, there were roughly about twenty captives in the whole camp. Thirteen were males. The remaining seven were females. Negotiations had been ongoing between the kidnappers and all their family members. Chioma hoped and prayed that her people would be able to come up with what the captors were demanding. She had overheard them saying ten million naira for each of the captives over the phone. Ten million! Where would her father be able to raise such a sum from?

The camp was a collection of huts scattered around a clearing in the forest. There were neither chairs or beds in the huts, nothing of comfort. There were no toilets, so whenever they wanted to relieve themselves, they went to the nearby bushes and squatted under the watchful eyes of their captives.

An attempt at escape was rewarded with disembowelment and a horrible, gruesome death that was unimaginable. An example had been made and the body of the escapee was just a few meters away from the camp. They could all smell the stench of putrefying flesh as it crawled with maggots. It was the most horrific thing Chioma had ever seen, not even in the movies. The poor man had let out bloodcurdling scream, while holding onto his intestines with blood soaked hands as he watched the life ebb out of him. It took him over two hours to die, two hours of excruciating pain and agony. The message had been understood, loud and clear. No escapes!

Chioma looked at the girl sitting besides her. She wore a blue gown and a red Hijab. At a guess she could be seventeen, give or take one year. She looked glassy eyed and in shock, as she stared transfixedly into the darkness. She had been dragged repeatedly out of the hut by different men, to be pushed back in hours later. She always walked slowly and painfully. She would flop down in a corner and sob continuously for a long period of time. No one dared to comfort her, because everyone of them was suffering the same fate. Conversations were forbidden, and could lead to being slain.

They all knew what the girl went through whenever the men took her out. They more or less were receiving the same treatment.

The irony of the horror Chioma was going through was that she was still a virgin in the actual sense of the word. Her hymen was still intact. But what she was experiencing was far worse than the regular intercourse she knew. She was being sodomized.

As soon as they had arrived at the camp three nights ago, the gang leader had laid his claim on her. No one else was to touch her. She was his chattel. As soon as they were thrown into the huts, the gang leader pulled her out roughly and led her deeper into the forest until they arrived at another empty hut. He told her to undress at gunpoint, while he groped her body and pinched her breasts. Chioma winced from the pain.

He ordered her to get down on all fours, while he fumbled with his trousers. Chioma was shivering and sobbing in fear and horror. What was happening? She thought. God, is this how my virginity will be taken away and my body violated? Oh God, why have thou forsaken me? Please God, save me! Chioma prayed in hopelessness.

She felt a searing pain as something huge was being forced into her anus. She shook her head in pain and turned to tell him he was in the wrong place. The feral looking man snarled at her, hitting her in the face with a crushing blow.

"Kiyi shuru ko in yanka ki,!" he warned. Chioma bit her lips so hard that she drew blood.

In the three days they had been in captivity, Chioma had been sodomized four times. Her rectum had peeled off as a result, and she had noticed blood in her underwear. The pain was there, dull and stabbing. She was in hell.

On the fourth day, they were all gathered around and told to squat on their haunches. They were all given a piece of local bread known as 'gurasa' for their breakfast. That's what they ate daily. One of the kidnappers was holding an android phone, obviously recording them. They all looked a sorry sight, pathetic and despondent.

The leader stood behind the videographer and spoke into the phone. He spoke in Hausa.

"Wadannan mutanen da muka kama ne a hanyar Abuja…" he began. "Muna son a bada kudin fansa naira miliyan goma-goma, miliyan dari biyu kenan! Idan ba haka ba duk zamu yanka su!"

Some of the captives started wailing and shouting into the camera. "Please save us! Please! They are going to kill us if they don't get the money! Ku taimake mu don Allah! Gwamnati ku taimake mu, bamuda kudi…!"

(This chapter is dedicated to all kidnapped victims in Nigeria and around the world. As I wrote the words, I couldn't help but emphatize with them and I could only imagine the horror they go through. To those that were ransomed, I pray God gives them the strength to overcome the trauma. As for those that lost their lives, may your souls rest in peace, and may your families find succour. Amen!)