Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A video has circulated again today on the 17th of June, 2026 of a testimony that has laid bare the savage reality of life inside a bandit camp, a survivor has recounted the unspeakable horrors he endured over 15 days in captivity — watching helplessly as his friend was burned alive while others were tortured, starved and subjected to daily violence. The survivor, whose identity has been withheld for her safety, spoke in a video that has circulated widely on social media, with many commentators noting that the footage was originally recorded approximately one year ago.
The survivor described how he and several others were seized from their community during a night raid, forced to march for hours into dense forest, and held in a makeshift camp where armed men treated their captives with calculated cruelty. According to her account, food was scarce, medical attention was nonexistent, and any attempt to resist or escape was met with savage beatings. The bandits, he said, appeared to derive pleasure from the suffering of their hostages, taunting them and threatening to kill them one by one if ransoms were not paid.
The most haunting moment of his testimony came when she described the death of his friend. The bandits had singled out one of the captives, accusing him of attempting to flee. Without any trial or pretense of justice, they doused him with fuel and set him ablaze as the other captives were forced to watch. “They burned our friend alive,” he said, his voice breaking. “We could do nothing. We just screamed and cried, and they laughed at us.” The victim’s charred remains were left in the open for days, she added, a deliberate act of psychological terror meant to break the spirits of the remaining hostages.
The survivor also recounted the daily cycle of abuse that defined life in the camp. The bandits routinely subjected female captives to sexual violence, forced men to work under grueling conditions, and demanded impossible ransoms from families already impoverished by years of insecurity. He described the constant fear of execution, the sleepless nights spent listening to gunfire and the cries of other victims, and the slow erosion of hope as days turned into weeks.
His eventual release came after his family managed to scrape together a ransom payment, though he noted that many others were not so fortunate. Some captives were released only to be recaptured, while others — like her friend — never left the forest alive. She called on the government to do more to rescue those still in captivity and to dismantle the bandit networks that have turned vast swaths of the North‑West into a lawless killing field.
The testimony has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many Nigerians expressing anger at the government’s inability to protect its citizens and rescue those in captivity. Human rights groups have also weighed in, calling for urgent action to address the escalating crisis of banditry and kidnapping that has displaced thousands and claimed countless lives across the region. As the survivor’s story continues to circulate, it serves as a grim reminder of the human cost of a conflict that shows no sign of abating.
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