Adamu Duguri
The elder brother of the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed has told of his experiences with kidnappers.
Adamu Duguri, 65, is an elder brother of
the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed. The retired Deputy
Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service, who holds the traditional
title of Wakilin Bauchi in Bauchi Emirate, was kidnapped on March 25,
2020 by four gunmen. He was released on April 20, 2020. He shares his
experience in the hands of kidnappers with a group of select
journalists, including ARMSTRONG BAKAM
You were kidnapped some few weeks ago and held by your abductors for over three weeks, how were you taken?
I was stolen! What has been destined to
happen will surely happen; nobody can change it. When you see people
with rifles, the next thing is to look for an escape route, but at that
time, there was no possibility of escape. So, I had to submit and I
told them, “Wait! You want to take me? Let’s go.” Because if they had
started releasing bullets, only God knows how many people would have
been killed. So we entered the vehicle and they drove off.
Where did they take you to?
Not far away from where they kidnapped
me, not up to a kilometre. You know, when they kidnap someone, they
would blindfold the victim and cover their faces too. We took different
turns; left, right before they entered the house. It was within Bauchi
metropolis. All along, I was inside Bauchi. I could hear prayers and
sermons from Izala and all the places that I know.
What was your experience in the hands of the kidnappers?
It was a hostile environment because
when you couldn’t show courage, you’d be in trouble. I was courageous
enough to want to know what their motive was, and it took time before I
realised what they wanted. The weather wasn’t favourable; it was a
small room and we were six in the room. There were watchmen with
rifles. The environment was hostile and very hot.
You said it took you time to realise what they wanted; what did you find out that they wanted?
You know, kidnappers have so many
motives and if you are intelligent enough to realise what brought them
to you, you have achieved one step. I was thinking: Is it political? Are
they my brother’s enemies? Are they looking for money? My mind and
brain were working seriously to figure out what they were looking for,
but it took time before I realised what they were doing. The situation
was pathetic. The kidnappers had a strong religious ideology and all of
them were Muslims. I am equally a Muslim. So, what will give you a
nightmare (is that) we prayed together though I refused to follow them
for some obvious reasons. We prayed the same prayers, recited the same
Quran but they were my kidnappers. You see, there is a kind of gap
between individuals and their faith; I noticed that. They were not
people who had a different faith from mine, but still, they were my
kidnappers. They also gave me respect as an elderly man.
During the time you were held captive, what did they feed you?
If you are here in the North, there is
nothing you cannot eat. Our food here is uniform. There was no Tuwo.
What they gave me were macaroni, rice, and spaghetti. There was a woman
there cooking and I would eat the food (laughs). When I refused to eat,
they gave me fruits. They were very hospitable to me, really.
What kind of conversations did you have with the kidnappers?
They didn’t talk inside the room; they
only used signs but before we parted, I realised that I even knew all
the signs. They didn’t speak because they didn’t want any other person
around to hear them. The room where they kept me was very close to the
main road so if anybody was standing outside, he would hear us. You can
imagine how surprised I was when they told me that the Emir of Bauchi
went somewhere and requested that people should pray for my freedom.
They came and told me that. You see, whatever happened around, they
would come and tell me. But I can tell you that they didn’t do anything
to humiliate me.
Were their faces covered?
Some of them did; most of them are not
from this state but I could identify the voices of one or two of them
but I don’t know who they are but I knew their voices.
Was their motive political or purely financial?
That is still a source of nightmare for
me. They mentioned some names. Don’t allow kidnappers to mention names
because they know how to tell lies. They have the ability to create
unhealthy rivalries among people, so when I noticed that, I refused to
allow them mention the names of people allegedly behind my kidnap. They
called a name and I said no, I don’t have any problem with the person
and don’t believe in what you are saying unless you have your own
problems with him.
Then they mentioned the name of a former
governor and I believe the former governor is not feeling well, so I
see no reason why he should arrange that I should be kidnapped; he
cannot be heartless to that extent. I told them not to mention the other
nine names to me and they kept quiet. They listened to me actually
because they had agents going inside the town who saw that people were
getting worried. One of them told me that he monitored my movements for
more than three years and never saw me in a bad place. He said he never
saw me doing anything bad and that was why they were afraid of me. I
told them not to be afraid of me but that they should be afraid of
themselves and what they were doing.
I said to them: “Now, you’ve separated
me from my family and friends and you are telling me that you are doing a
good work. No!” The first thing I noticed was that religious motive
was there because Nigeria is a very funny country. They were mainly
youths and I know that there is no clear-cut policy for Nigerian
youths. Most of them were youths with polluted minds because what they
were saying about the government and successful people was bad.
They knew you were the governor’s brother before they kidnapped you…
They knew. I told you they said they monitored me for more than three years; they even told me that I had an attaché.
After you regained your freedom, you released a statement saying you had forgiven your kidnappers…
You see, Nigeria is a funny country, I
told you earlier. These people, we started as enemies but when I was
leaving, they were crying. The place was hostile and very hot: one small
door, two small windows which they had blocked and they locked the
door. It was very hot so they used the local hand fan to fan me. They
didn’t do anything to humiliate me. I have heard how kidnappers tie
people up and beat them but they did nothing like that to me. It was
just like a military formation; in the morning, one of their leaders
would ask me if anybody insulted me. There was one who did something to
me and I queried why he did that, they removed him and gave me another
guard (laughs). So, it was a well established formation.
They said they had so many orphans to
take care of and that was why they must kidnap people and collect
ransoms though I don’t believe that. I asked them, “How do you get the
orphans?” They said from their members, so I realised it was a religious
organisation, so I stopped trying to get more (information) on that
because it was dangerous. But I asked if they had any relationship with
Ibrahim Shekau (Boko Haram leader) but I noticed that they hated him.
If they had their way, they could kill him. This kind of thing would
make you get confused; if it was purely a Boko Haram organisation, they
would be for Shekau, but they were hostile in answering questions
about him.
What was going through your mind during the time you were there?
I understood they didn’t want to kill
me; they were not in support of killing people. I even asked them, “What
of bombing?” They said no, that is what they don’t want. They said
they didn’t want to see people dead. Is that not a contradiction? That
was why I told you earlier that I had not yet reached a conclusion on
what their motives were, but I noticed it was a religious organisation.
Did they release you or did the police rescue you?
I was afraid of having security men
coming to rescue me. I believed I would die if that happened because
they would come and start firing gunshots to kill all of us there. I
know we don’t have a sophisticated way of handling rescue operations. I
asked them how they talked (during negotiation) and they said they
would not talk because they would be tracked. They are educated; they
had western education not only religious education. They did not
communicate with my family directly; they knew what they were doing.
They would take the audio recording of my voice to Jos, and from there
give to somebody in Kaduna. That person will send it to Kano, then the
person in Kano would call my family; that was what they did. When they
did that twice, I told them, “Look, your anti-tracking measures will
fail, you must change.” They agreed. They went to Gombe not Jos this
time to avoid being tracked.
What lessons did the experience teach you?
We have a lot of problems in this
country. I said earlier that there is no clear-cut policy for the youth;
this is the most important thing.
Are you saying that some of these youths are doing this because of high rate of employment in the country?
Yes, because an idle mind will start thinking of how to be like others and to do that, they will take the most dubious route.
High profile personalities
like you are kidnapped every now and then, what suggestions will you
give to the government as regard how to improve security?
Some members of the National Assembly
visited me and I told them to prepare a clear-cut policy for Nigerian
youths. If they are left this way, it will be a problem in the future.
They are large in number and have physical strength. They have similar
issues that will bind them together, so it will be a very volatile
problem in the future if it is allowed to continue like this. They must
eat, they are strong enough to look for women, they can drink, whereas
nothing (jobs) is forthcoming, what do you think will happen? And they
are being used by politicians and others once they give them some
money. The problem affects the whole country. Look at the Niger Delta
youths, Sara Suka youths, and others; each society has its own problem
of youth restiveness.
When you met with the governor after you regained your freedom, how did he react?
We have so many brothers (half-brothers)
but what makes it emotional (for us) is because I am the only one who
shares the same father and mother with him. He was emotional but I
wasn’t. He felt bad. People think I was abducted because they wanted to
bring him down but I am not sure of that.
You said you had already forgiven your abductors…
I went sentimental to do that; don’t
encourage violence. I know they are human beings. Capital punishment is
not the solution. If you forgive, God will forgive you equally; that is
the only reason. There must be a reason for doing what they did which I
don’t know and nobody knows but God knows it; that is why I have gone
emotional.
They wouldn’t have released you if no ransom was paid…
(Laughs) You know it was a big catch;
they said it. They also said they had never kidnapped somebody as big as
I am; they went through my records. They knew I was with Customs. They
knew I knew what they were doing. I cooperated with them; I was doing
it to know who they were anyway. They felt I was a threat to them. They
demanded N350m and I told them, “Come, if you are looking for such
money, I will continue to be a liability to you here and you know I have
acclimatised (to the conditions) already. I am not feeling bad. I eat
well; the only problem is that I don’t sleep well.” All of us were
sleeping on a mat; they gave me three pillows. I told them I had
acclamatised (to the conditions) and if they wanted me to continue
eating their food, no problem. They gave me apples, malt drink, and so
on. Anything I wanted to eat, they provided for me.
I said I didn’t have that kind of money
and I asked them, “Or are you thinking that the governor will bring
Bauchi State money and give you so that they can impeach him?” They told
me there is a problem in the House of Assembly regarding whether the
governor would take money from the state coffers and give to them. I
said maybe in my capacity as a private person, I could get that but
since I was there with them, where did they expect me to get the money?
Then they became sentimental. They said Bauchi government was their
government and that they could kill anybody who went against the
government. When I saw that, I had to follow that line. I told them we
didn’t have that money.
I asked them how much a barrel of oil
cost in the international market and they said $20 to $25 per barrel. I
reminded them that the Assets and Funds Recovery Committee said over
N1tn was missing in Bauchi; they said they heard about it. Then I asked
them what should we do and they said they would see what they could do.
They said they could reduce it to N150m. I told them it meant I would
continue to stay there with them because nobody would give them that
kind of money. They said they would release me after collecting what
they could get and then I would give them the balance later. I asked
them how they would collect the money. I said if they should come to my
house, I would shout: “They are my kidnappers.” The money we paid is
not even up to N100m; it is not up to that because my family did very
well on that. Actually it was about N50m they collected. I must tell
you that is what it is. As an old man, why should I even lie? I can
afford N50m, you know? I don’t need it from Bauchi State Government, I
can afford it.
As a retired Deputy
Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service, what do you think should be
done to address the problem of insecurity?
I fought Boko Haram when I was in
service and in Maiduguri, what was given to us? Nothing! Anybody who
tells you that motivation is not important in personnel management,
(know it is a lie). They (soldiers) are afraid; they value their lives
because in the event of death, even their entitlements are not paid to
their families. How can they put in their best? They need encouragement
and motivation as human beings; without that, we are going nowhere.
See the lives they are living, are they
doing well? They are not. Even when they should get allowances, go and
ask the management if they are giving them. They can’t put in their
best.
But billions of naira are being budgeted for security in the country every year…
Are these monies being disbursed? Go and
ask and see if they have reached the destination they are expected to
reach. Budgeting doesn’t mean disbursement.
***
Source: Saturday PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment