Freedom finally came yesterday for the 13 remaining students and three members of staff of Greenfield University, Kaduna, after 38 days in kidnappers’ den.

They were released after the parents met the demand of the kidnappers for an N180m ransom.

Although the parents and other relations were relieved that they got their children back alive, they were furious with the federal and Kaduna State governments for the alleged levity with which they handled the abduction case.

So angry were the parents that they snatched the students from the police who had allegedly wanted to take the glory for securing their release.

The parents spoke of the physical and mental torture they went through to get the abductees released without any help from government.

They told of how they sold their property to raise the N180million ransom paid to the gunmen who invaded the university campus early on April 20 and carried off 18 students and three members of staff of the institution.

 

One of the students was killed during the raid while five others were shot dead by the kidnappers in their den to drive home the point that they would kill all of then except a ransom of N800million was paid.

The abductees were let off last night close to Ollam Farms on the Kaduna – Abuja highway.

Soon afterward, some security men around the scene picked them up to hand them over to the police, but the parents of the students would have none of that.

 

They forced open the gate of the farms to have access to the students before snatching them away.

They branded the government insensitive, uncaring and leaving them to their fate all this while.

They recalled repeated pleas to the state government and the security agencies to help secure the release of the abductees and how they resorted to selling their assets to raise money for the ransom.

The students and staff themselves looked gaunt and traumatised.

Parents and students broke down in tears as they embraced.

One of the parents, (name withheld) said: “we paid N180 million; that is what they collected from us without the help of any government.

“We, the parents, paid. The government did not send a single policeman to go after our children’s kidnappers.”

A crying mother said they also gave motorcycles to the bandits as part of the ransom.