Some of the 163 kidnapped Nigerians rescued from jihadi captivity have spoken of the suffering and fear they lived in for six months. The freed captives, mostly women and children, were among over 300 kidnap victims freed by Nigerian forces this week. They were handed over to the authorities by security forces in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state, on Friday for medical attention and routine checks, and were anticipating their return home to reunite with their families.Mary Ishaya recalled days without food, and being asked alongside others to bury other hostages who died in captivity. The 44-year-old, who had never touched a dead body, said: “I still cannot find the right words to describe what has happened to us. We saw death and suffering.”The Nigerians were abducted on Feb 3 when jihadi militants stormed the village of Woro, killing over 160 others. In the hospital where they were receiving medical attention, the freed captives looked emaciated with many laying on the floor, barely able to stand, while others had injuries and emotional scars from their ordeal. Some of the women were informed that their husbands had been among those killed in the Feb attack.Some said they had given up on any hope of returning home. Others recounted people falling sick, being beaten by the rain, and told to hide whenever Nigerian military helicopters flew over the forest hideouts where the captors held them.The US is providing military support to Nigeria under an agreement it says aims to protect Nigerian Christians, though much of that support is restricted to logistics and intelligence-gathering.
