Bandit terrorists have abducted dozens of travellers, including a nursing mother, in Shema area along Katsina-Gusau Road.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the incident occurred around 8pm on Thursday evening when the attackers waylaid hundreds of travellers.
Hafiz Aliyu, a witness who survived the attack and rescued the baby told our reporter how the mother pleaded to be allowed to carry her daughter along, but the kidnappers rejected the plea and left the baby alone in the bush.
“We were travelling along Katsina-Zamfara road, between Sheme and Yankara, when our attention was drawn that bandits were ahead. So we waited for about 40 minutes for the arrival of soldiers.
“The soldiers asked all the motorists not to move further from the point and then went to confront the bandits alone to avoid civilian casualty. They came back after about 30 minutes to lead us through. The soldiers vehicle was far ahead as all other vehicles followed their lead.
“On hearing the bandits’ firepower, the soldiers suddenly made a U-turn in high speed and then ordered all the vehicles to go back. There were over 100 vehicles, so it’s impossible for the vehicles to make a U-turn. The only option was to alight from the vehicles and run.
“As I dashed out of the car, I got injured. So I resigned to my fate and hid under one of the vehicles. As the bandits came, they chased those running and ordered those who couldn’t run to follow them into the bush.
“As I held my breath under the vehicle, I heard a woman crying, ‘my baby, my baby…’ but the bandits ignored her cries and abandoned her daughter in the bush.
“After lying for about 30 minutes under the vehicle, and having realised that they left, I came out to look for the baby. There was eerie silence around the place. Only the baby’s intermittent whimper broke the silence.
“From there, I took her and started trekking without knowing where I was going. We arrived at a village called Kuchere at dawn, and the villagers sheltered us and gave us food to eat. The baby caught cold due to the hours of exposure to the wind, so they gave her some herbal treatment.
“The baby could not talk but cry. We don’t know her name, nor her mother’s name.
“After handing her over to the village head, I started my journey back to Zaria,” Mr Aliyu told DAILY NIGERIAN.
