Nigerian Law School student, David Obiora, has given an update about his kidnapping on his way to the Yola Campus of the school.
His narrative has corrected earlier assumptions and official reports about the actors behind the violent crime.
Obiora, who was kidnapped alongside 5 other students on July 26, 2025, has disclosed that their captors were not Fulani herdsmen as widely speculated, but Tiv indigenes from Benue State.
This information directly contradicts statements from the Nigeria Police and has drawn public attention to the accuracy of official rescue claims.
Obiora, who is currently studying at the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School, said the kidnapping took place along the Zakibiam-Mukari Expressway.
He and the others were travelling in a company vehicle from Onitsha to Yola when they were intercepted.
According to him, the journey was going smoothly until they were suddenly ambushed and taken away into the nearby bushes.
It was during their time in captivity that he realised the abductors were mostly Tiv-speaking locals.
He explained that while one or two of the kidnappers may have been Fulani, the majority were clearly from the Tiv ethnic group.
Obiora noted that the group spoke the Tiv language frequently and were familiar with the terrain, indicating they were locals.
One of them, who shared the same name with him—David—opened up during the long days they were held, boasting about his long history in the kidnapping trade.
Obiora recounted that this particular kidnapper revealed disturbing details about his personal life.
He claimed to have been in the kidnapping business for over 9 years.
Despite the risks involved, he had reportedly made enough money to buy a Highlander SUV and another car for his wife.
His children, according to him, are attending good schools and live comfortably.
However, he confessed that he has never been able to go back to his own house due to being a wanted man.
The kidnapped students were kept in poor conditions, often tied and moved from one location to another.
Obiora said the kidnappers were bold and unafraid of being caught, with some of them even mocking the police.
He added that the men seemed well-coordinated and experienced, behaving like people who had done this many times before.
They operated with little fear and showed no urgency in negotiating ransom, acting as though they had the upper hand.
According to Obiora, one of the kidnappers, also named David, boasted about being in the kidnapping business for over nine years. “He told us he hasn’t been home in years.’
He claimed to have bought a Highlander SUV and another car for his wife, who now drives both. His children are in school and live well. But he cannot furnish or visit his own house because he’s a wanted man. He said they’re already marked and just doing business until they are caught.
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