metro

13 Months After Abduction, Family Of 13-Year-Old Abducted Student Live In Pain, Hope

Published

3 years ago

September 3, 2022

Treasure Ayubaa and his mother, Janet Peter

What we miss about him
‘Student hypnotised, unwilling to return home’
It’s untrue, we believe he’s willing to come back – Family

For Mary Peter, Treasure Ayuba, is not just a grandson. She said, “He is my blood and flesh. His mother only gave birth to him, but I am his everything. He and I had a strong bond even before he was born.”

For this reason, when her sleep was interrupted around 2am on July 5, 2021 to be told that the young Ayuba, who had just turned 12 three days earlier, was abducted from his school dormitory, Mrs Peter broke into tears.

“I rushed to wake his mother up and the rest of the people in the house. We spent the rest of the night crying and praying before we rushed out to the school at dawn,” she recalled the moment in an interview with Daily Trust Saturday in the family’s small bungalow in Kaduna’s suburb of Mahuta.

Her grandson was among the 121 students abducted from the Bethel Baptist High School, located at Maraban Damishi in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State last year.

During the overnight raid, which was allegedly masterminded by a bandit kingpin in the area, Tukur Sharme, two military personnel on guard duty at the school – Private Salisu Rabiu and Ordinary Seaman Bilal Mohammed – were killed.

READ ALSO:

Ayuba was a new student enrolled into the school to begin his journey for secondary education. The school was chosen because his mother – who finished from the school – believed it would be a good place for moral and educational development of her child. She had no premonition that the boy’s journey in her alma mater would be short and end in tragedy.

For the family, Ayuba’s abduction was a reincarnation of a recent tragedy. Four months earlier, Ayuba’s aunt, Jennifer Peter, was kidnapped from the Federal School of Forestry, Afaka, when gunmen attacked the school on March 5, 2021. She was to stay in captivity for two months before she regained her freedom after much furore and negotiations. Mrs Peter participated in the many protests by parents of the kidnapped students, demanding for rescue of their children. Eventually, Jennifer was released.

Mrs Mary Peter, Ayuba’s grandmother

“The trauma of her abduction was still with us when this news came. She was kidnapped from school three weeks after her sister, Treasure’s mother, had sustained fracture from an accident. We were not yet out of the shock when this (Ayuba’s abduction) took place.

“She (Jennifer) was the worst hit by that news because she had experienced it. She knew what she went through. She told us that her concern was not the time he would spend with the abductors but the suffering they would go through trekking to the camps. She is still living with the trauma of her own experience,” Mrs Peter said.

For the family, it is the beginning of another chapter of agony, which they had no premonition it could drag this long.

Mrs Peter, who was widowed a year earlier, led the rest of the family to join families of the other abducted students in the quest to bring back Ayuba and his mates.

The fight for freedom

The fight was manifold. The parents deployed everything to see to the freedom of their children – talking to the state government and relevant security agencies and protesting, sometimes under the rains to draw attention to the plight of their children. They also opened negotiation with the abductors when it appeared that no result was forthcoming from official quarters.

Through a tortuous negotiation and ransom payment, 120 students were released piecemeal over the course of six months. The last freed student, Daily Trust Saturday learnt, was the one released on January 1, 2022.

With every news of freed students, the family of Treasure Ayuba would rush to see if the young boy they adore was lucky to be out of the kidnappers’ den. They always came back in disappointment.

Despite promises and receiving payments, Ayuba has remained with his abductors, to the anguish of the family.

“At another time, my son-in-law volunteered, along with his friend, to go and deliver the ransom. The two of them were held by the kidnappers. They demanded that I pay ransom to before they would release them. They said they knew I had grains, that I should sell and give them the money. What do I do when my in-law and someone else’s children are held captive? I had to sell other things and add to what his family raised. My brother and I went to pay and get them out,” she said.

The family had joined others in prayer crusade for divine intervention. With the school authority and local leadership of the Christian community in the area, parents and other well-wishers engaged in spirited rounds of supplications for months.

READ ALSO:

Gradually, with more and more victims freed, the prayer group thinned out. Mrs Peter and only a handful of close family members remained consistent.

“I had to call off the prayer sessions because it turned out that only the old man leading the prayers remained with us. His mother was also becoming emotionally drained; every time we went there she would come back depressed. The father is old and sick, so at the end, it was only I and few others, so I asked them to suspend the sessions,” she said.

Beyond the communal prayer sessions, Mrs Peter said she had travelled to many places of worship for special devotions in her quest to get her grandson back.

‘What we miss about him’

In the 13 months since Ayuba’s abduction, the family holds on tight to his memories, signified by his last picture before the incident.

For his mother, Janet Peter, the photo of young Ayuba, snapped on July 3, 2021, a day after his 12th birthday, evokes a strong emotion. That day, she and other members of the family had gone to visit the boy and deliver a cake specially made to commemorate his birthday.

Looking at the photo, which shows Ayuba in his school uniform holding the cake, sets tears rolling down the cheeks of his mother; yet, it is the closest she had been to him in over a year.

Ms Peter said she had fond memories of her son, who she described as her look-alike.

Beyond that, he was a caring son in spite of his young age as he assisted the mother with laundry and dry-cleaning while she was nursing her broken leg.

“When I saw him ironing my cloths I would ask: Why bother when I am not going out in the cloth? But he would say he just wanted me to look good, even while at home.

“Treasure is someone who really cared about everybody in this house, especially my mum. She is not finding it easy,” Ms Peter said in tears.

As disclosed by her daughter, Mrs Janet confessed to having a rough time since the event of July 5, 2021. For her, Ayuba was a “helper” who showed responsibility beyond his age. “He is not just a boy. If you know the meaning of his name, Treasure, you would find him fitting of the name.”

Despite the passing days and months, Ms Peter holds on to a wish for another opportunity to see her son.

‘Student hypnotised, unwilling to return home’

Daily Trust Saturday gathered that there are fears that Ayuba was hypnotised by his captors and indoctrinated him into their wayward lifestyle.

Sources involved with negotiations for his release said the boy may have been influenced by the abductors, making him unwilling to return home.

“During the early days of the abduction, the leader of the kidnappers told the go-between that he liked the boy because of his courage and would want to keep him. We thought they were joking, but they are making that threat real,” a source who didn’t want to be named said.

READ ALSO:

The proprietor of the Bethel Baptist High School, who is also the president of the Kaduna Baptist Conference, The Rev Ishaya Adamu, confirmed the “reluctance” of the teenager to return home, but said it was not the only reason Ayuba is still with the abductors.

“I am looking for money to go and bring the boy,” he said, explaining that “part of it is the issue of money, but the boy in question has been reluctant to come back home. We have paid money and we sent someone to go and bring the boy, but he was reluctant. But we are still discussing with them. They are expecting us to bring money. They need serious money, but we don’t have it,” he said.

Asked if the boy was acting on his own or being restrained by his captors, Adamu said, “I am not sure this boy can take a decision on his own now. Whatever he is doing there must be influence.”

It’s untrue, we believe he’s willing to come back – Family

But the family of the teenager said it was unbelievable that the boy would choose the criminals holding him over them.

“I don’t believe what they are saying. It is impossible for a 12-year-old who was forcefully taken away. He did not leave to go and join the bandits on his own. People are insinuating different things instead of helping us with prayers.

“Those who spread falsehood and slander us and the little kid instead of helping us with prayer will be shamed. I have a firm belief that the boy would be back and the truth would be known

Mrs Peter expressed anger over what she described as twisted narratives and conspiracy, which she said were generating stigma for them.

Despite many broken promises by the abductors, the family said they would not give up in the fight to get Treasure Ayuba back home.

Daily Trust

Related Topics:abduction family Hope Pain student

Up Next

Army intercepts 792 parcels of cannabis

Don't Miss

Bandits Invade Zamfara Mosque, Abduct Worshippers

metro

Security operatives stop another pipeline bombing in Rivers

Published

2 minutes ago

March 26, 2025

Trends Admin

Security operatives stop another pipeline bombing in Rivers

Operatives of the security agencies including the police, Army, Navy and Air Force have foiled an attempt to blow up another pipeline in the Ikwerre and Emohua local government areas of Rivers State.

The police in revealing this bombing attempt on Tuesday however vowed to protect all critical infrastructure of government and ensure total security of lives and property in the state during the emergency rule.
Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Olugbenga Adepoju, at a press briefing on Tuesday said their joint operations had led to stoping the criminals.
He disclosed that the security team foiled attempts by criminals to take advantage of developments in the state to vandalise critical assets of government.
He added that one suspect died while attempting to detonate an explosive on the pipeline.
He said, “Over the past week, the joint efforts of the security agencies in Rivers State have, among other successes, thwarted attempts by miscreants to vandalise pipelines which led to the death of the vandal in the process of trying to detonate a pipeline at Aluu- Rumuekpe in Ikwerre LGA but for the quick intervention of security agents.”
The CP urged members of the public to provide the Police and other security agencies with credible intelligence regarding individuals or groups and their conspirators engaging in vandalism.

metro

Constitution amendment: Reps move to stop gov’ship election cases at A/Court

Published

25 minutes ago

March 26, 2025

Trends Admin

House of Representatives

Constitution amendment: Reps move to stop gov’ship election cases at A/Court

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to make the Court of Appeal the final arbiter in disputes involving governorship, National and State House of assembly elections.

The bill is among the 39 constitution amendment bills that were passed through second reading on the floor of the House.

The passage of the bills comes as the House prepares to go on Sallah and Easter breaks and on the heels of the controversy that trails the adoption of the declaration of state of emergency declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rivers State last week.

The bills were passed after they were presented for second reading through a motion by the House Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbre and referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, for further legislative actions.

The proposed legislation was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwani Federal Constituency of Delta State, Nnamdi Ezechi.

Daily Trust reports that before now, electoral disputes involving governorship election are decided by the Supreme Court as the final arbiter, while that of the National and State Assemblies end at the Court of Appeal.

However, the proposed amendment seeks to abridge the timeline involved in deciding governorship election disputes by making the Appeal Court the final arbiter.

READ ALSO:

Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Ezechi said the proposed legislation seeks to alter the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 246 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

He said the bill seeks to delete the existing subsection (3) and substitute a new subsection (3) to read, “The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election petitions shall be final.”

He said, “Mr Speaker, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act of 2010 altered Section 246 subsection (1) by providing in paragraphs (b) and (c) that appeals to the Court of Appeal shall be as of right from the decisions of the National and State Houses of Assembly and decisions of the Governorship Election Tribunals as to whether a person has been validly elected as a lawmaker or a governor or whether his tenure has ceased or his seat has become vacant.

“The second alteration specifically provided in Section 246 subsection (3) that the decisions of the Court of Appeal arising from the National and State Houses of Assembly election petitions shall be final.

“However, the amendment did not say anything about the Governorship Election Petition, thereby allowing all governorship election petitions to proceed to the apex court (Supreme Court). This bill is trying to amend the present provision of Section 246 subsection (3) by making the Court of Appeal the final appeal court for all election petitions.”

Justification for amendment

According to the PDP lawmaker, “This would enable the final winner of a governorship election to be known without delay. If the person declared as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission wins in the Court of Appeal, it would allow him to settle down and face the business of governance without distraction.”

He also noted that terminating election disputes at the appellate court would save costs, saying, “If such petitions end in the Court of Appeal, it would reduce the financial resources being wasted by the parties in prosecuting such cases to the Supreme Court.”

He continued, “We should note that the original provision of Section 246 (1)(b) stated that an appeal shall lie as of right from the decisions of the National Assembly Election Tribunals and Governorship and Legislative Houses Tribunals on the issues mentioned above.

“Subsection (3) of the said section clearly stated that the decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from election petitions shall be final.”

Constitution amendment: Reps move to stop gov’ship election cases at A/Court

metro

Terrorists kill soldiers in attack on Borno military base

Published

40 minutes ago

March 26, 2025

Trends Admin

Nigerian military troops

Terrorists kill soldiers in attack on Borno military base

Many soldiers were feared killed by Boko Haram insurgents in an attack on a military base in Sabon Gari, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, on Monday.

According to local sources, the attack occurred in the evening when the insurgents launched an assault oBornon the military formation, firing sporadically and causing numerous casualties, including soldiers killed and others critically injured.

A resident of Damboa, Abba Usman, provided additional information, saying that military reinforcements rushing to the scene stepped on a landmine, causing an explosion that resulted in injuries and possibly more casualties.

“I do not have much information, but I can confirm that there was an attack and soldiers were killed. Here, we also heard about how soldiers rushing to the base for reinforcement stepped on something like a bomb, and it exploded,” Usman said.

A military source also confirmed the attack; however, the source refrained from providing a specific number of soldiers killed, stating, “There was an attack; many soldiers were killed, but the figure is currently not known.”

When contacted, spokesperson for Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col A.Y. Jingina, responded, saying, “Please, I am out of station, and Sabon Gari is under Sector 2.”

READ ALSO:

However, the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, Usman Tar, confirmed the incident, stating, “I can confirm there was an IED attack in a place called Wajiroko (under Damboa). What happened was that our military personnel stepped on an IED. We lost one, and one sustained an injury. It was not an attack; it was an IED our soldiers stepped on.”

Meanwhile, Lt Gen Olufemi Oluyede, the Chief of Army Staff, has asked commanders and heads of various Army formations across the country to work with stakeholders in their respective areas to successfully handle the nation’s security concerns. He made the call on Tuesday at the start of the four-day First Senior Command and Leadership Seminar in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

In his remarks, Oluyede stressed the necessity of forming partnerships with other security agencies, civil society organisations, and traditional institutions to combat terrorism and other criminal activities.

He emphasised that mutual respect and teamwork were critical for long-term national stability and effective counterterrorism activities.

Oluyede, represented by the Army’s Chief of Training, Maj. Gen. Abubakar Sadiq Ndalolo, advised the commanders to constantly adjust their strategies to meet changing security challenges. He urged them to have meaningful discussions and share best practices during the lecture.

“These stakeholders are pivotal to addressing the prevailing security threats within your areas of responsibilities.

“It is also pertinent that you strategically apply situational awareness and strategic communication skills when engaging these stakeholders so that you can foster mutual respect and build teamwork. This integrated approach is not only key to addressing our immediate security threats. It can also contribute significantly to long-term national stability,” he said.

The conference is intended to provide Army operational commanders and senior military officers with the tools they need to handle Nigeria’s increasingly complicated security environment.

Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, who was represented by Deputy Governor Emmanuel Akabe, praised the Nigerian Army for holding the seminar, describing it as a critical venue for sharing experiences and improving operational leadership abilities.

Maj. Gen. Hilary Nzan, Commander of the 4 Special Forces Command, also extended gratitude to the participants and underlined the significance of altering the Nigerian Army’s operations via innovation and strategic thinking.