Nigeria kidnap victims escape 'hellfire' captivity with deep scars

Ilorin, Nigeria - Woro village suffered a devastating attack by suspected jihadists in February, resulting in the deaths of at least 165 people and the kidnapping of over 163 individuals. The victims were rescued this month from the Kainji Lake National Park. The survivors, frail and malnourished, are now being treated at Kwara State University Teaching Hospital in Ilorin.

Doctors and nurses are working tirelessly to help the victims recover from their traumatic ordeal. Some of the children are hooked to respirators and in critical condition. The hospital chief medical director, Ahmed Bola Abdulkadir, reports that many of the victims need care for psychological trauma. Babies were even delivered under torchlight by the captors.

Despite the horrors they endured, the victims express gratitude for their rescue. One survivor, Hajara, says, "I do not wish that on even my enemies. It was like we just came back from hellfire." The government emphasizes this rescue as a major success in their campaign against kidnappings, but faces a larger crisis as kidnappings have become a multi-million-dollar industry across Nigeria.