Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (rtd), a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has shared a terrifying account of his over two-month captivity in the hands of terrorists. The 72-year-old general was abducted and held in a remote forest, where he and other captives endured life-threatening conditions.
Tsiga described the environment as a wilderness filled with wild animals and deadly creatures. He noted, “We were kept with dangerous animals—hyenas, snakes, and scorpions. A day before I was released, just the day before yesterday, while on the mountain where I was staying, we suddenly noticed a hyena circling us, looking for food. And what kind of food? Us, human beings.”
Throughout his time in captivity, Tsiga and others lived in constant fear, not only of the animals but also of their captors. He revealed that the terrorists used them as human shields whenever military forces launched attacks. “Whenever troops attacked them, they would bring us out and use us as human shields, hoping to get us killed by the military strikes. They wanted us to be hit by the aircraft. But God is merciful.”
One of the most terrifying moments of his ordeal, he said, involved an unexploded rocket. “During an airstrike, a rocket was fired at the terrorists, but it didn’t explode. Instead, they carried the unexploded rocket and placed it where I was sleeping, hiding it in a way that if I touched it, it would detonate. Yet, by God’s mercy, I survived.”
Tsiga explained that the kidnappers assumed that military officers have access to large sums of money, which led them to target him. “They believe that those of us in uniform are given money by the government. That’s why they tried to break into my house. They couldn’t, so they went to my home in Kaduna and used explosives to destroy it, including the gates.”
Speaking on behalf of the 18 other rescued victims, Tsiga expressed deep gratitude to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Chief of Defence Staff for their efforts in securing their release. He also noted that maintaining security should be a collective effort.
“We must not assume that the government can do it all alone. Everyone must contribute by providing intelligence and information. The NSA and the CDS are not magicians; they need timely and accurate reports to act upon.”
