By Abubakar Yunusa, Kaduna
A 19-year-old Nigerian victim of bandits attack, Zakaria Iliya, has recounted how his life took a turn for the worse with the loss of his arm.
Zakaria, who returned to his community, Ungwan Gora in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State for a herbal treatment, disclosed his nightmare in an interview on Tuesday.
He said the bandits had stormed his community on the day of the presidential election and kidnapped him alongside five other villagers.
He said: “On that fateful day, while we were at the kidnappers’ den, they asked us to go and fetch water. When we came back from fetching the water, I went to defecate.
“While i was there, i saw one of the bandit running towards me with a long sharp matchet and chopped off my arm on assumption i wanted to escape.
“I saw hell, blood was gushing out without any help from anybody. The bandits continue beating me mercilessly without being remorseful of my condition.
“A sum of N1 million naira was paid as ransom before I was released,” Zakaria lamented.
He said his parents had to struggle to pay the money before they secured his release.
According to Zakaria, they’ve so far spent the sum of N200,000 for treatment in one of the hospitals in Kajuru town.
Zakaria who appealed to the government and other philanthropists for a help of the sum of N200,000 to enable him settled the remaining hospital bills, said life has never been the same since the day of Nigeria’s presidential election.