‘They Assigned One Girl to 3 or 4 Men Daily’: Survivor Recounts 20 Days of Rape, Torture in Bandits’ Den

‘They Assigned One Girl to 3 or 4 Men Daily’: Survivor Recounts 20 Days of Rape, Torture in Bandits’ Den

A young woman (name withheld) has given a harrowing first-hand account of the systematic rape, beatings, and degrading treatment she endured during 20 days in a bandits’ camp in northern Nigeria, revealing that sexual violence against female captives was routine and unrelenting throughout her captivity. Speaking in Hausa during an interview with MAIBIREDI TV, the survivor said she and fellow captives were shackled with iron rods upon arrival and held in a forest hut, where they were flogged, forced to lie on bare ground, made to sit immobile for hours, and subjected to repeated interrogations. “They beat us. It wasn’t just the beatings; they subjected us to various forms of humiliation,” she said. She confirmed that sexual assault of women in the camp was not an isolated occurrence but a continuous pattern. “Wallahi, yes, absolutely,” she said when asked directly. “Ever since we arrived, it was a continuous thing, not just once.” The survivor said she was the only group held in that section of the camp during her captivity. Her freedom came only after a ransom payment. The bandits initially demanded N10 million. “I don’t know if the amount was later negotiated down, but the money was ultimately delivered,” she said. “Everything they do to a person there makes your heart ache whenever you recall it,” she added.

This testimony aligns with documented reports indicating that rape and sexual assault are routinely used as weapons to terrorise, control, and punish rural communities across Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central zones. Armed bandits employ sexual violence strategically to inflict widespread trauma and fear, forcing communities into submission and preventing resistance, often assaulting women in front of their families to cause maximum humiliation and psychological devastation. The states most heavily affected by this crisis include Zamfara, considered the epicentre of banditry, as well as Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, and Kwara. In some instances, bandits have been reported to abduct women and girls specifically for sexual gratification rather than for ransom. One survivor from an IDP camp in Niger State recounted being told by her abductors that they had “come for the wives,” and that the abduction was only for sexual gratification, with all 10 women kidnapped during that attack being subjected to rape.

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In a separate testimony, another survivor described being held in a bandits’ camp where she and other women were subjected to daily sexual assault and inhumane treatment, saying: “Bandits usually feed us to be strong. Then they take turns having sex with us everyday. Sometimes they can assign one girl to be pleasing 3 or 4 men daily.” Other survivors of mass abductions have corroborated the brutally inhumane conditions, describing how captives are held in chains, denied adequate food, and exposed to the elements. One rescued victim who was held for 32 days recounted that captives “used to chain us in twos,” with movement severely restricted even for basic needs. Another survivor of a mass abduction in Kaduna State reported that the abductees were fed only four times throughout three weeks of captivity and were forced to sleep in the open forest, enduring mosquito bites and constant threats.

The violence in these camps extends beyond physical and sexual abuse. Research and survivor testimonies indicate that kidnapping victims face not only rape but also forced marriage, slavery-like conditions, and psychological torture. According to a study on rural banditry in Nigeria, women are more likely to be abducted and forced into marriages with bandits instead of being killed, while men are more frequently killed during attacks. For women and girls, the trauma of captivity is compounded by the potential for long-term social stigmatisation, particularly for those who return with children or pregnancies resulting from rape. Some are also forced into marriage or slavery, with survivors recounting that while in captivity for over a year, some captives were forced to “do house chores for their wives as slaves, while others were forcefully married to them.” The account offers a rare first-hand window into the brutal conditions inside kidnappers’ enclaves in northern Nigeria, where victims face systematic physical and sexual violence during prolonged captivity for ransom.

‘They Assigned One Girl to 3 or 4 Men Daily’: Survivor Recounts 20 Days of Rape, Torture in Bandits’ Den