Parents of the 165 children and staff still held by bandits after the St. Mary’s Catholic School abduction have revealed harrowing accounts from the released pupils: captives are sleeping on swampy ground, drinking muddy water, and eating just once a day.
Key Points:
Released children reported sleeping on swampy terrain, plagued by mosquitoes.
They drink water from mud and eat only tuwo and miyan kuka once daily.
Parents said the children cook for themselves and rarely bathe.
100 victims were rescued and handed over last week; 165 remain in captivity.
Governor Mohammed Bago pledged continued efforts but urged parents to be patient.
One parent with three children still held “broke down in tears when none were freed.
Fears grow over severe health impacts and trauma for children aged 7 to 10.
As some families reunite, others are left in agonizing limbo, a stark divide between relief and ongoing despair, rooted in a storm of violence that spares neither body nor spirit.
Sources: Leadership Sunday,