{
  "id": 313078,
  "title": "The Man Who Was Kidnapped Twice",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/the-man-who-was-kidnapped-twice",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-03T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The New Yorker",
    "slug": "the-new-yorker",
    "url": "https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/08/10/the-man-who-was-kidnapped-twice"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Anyanwu, a thirty-eight-year-old man from a small town, was kidnapped twice by a group of armed Fulani men. He grew up in his hometown and later attended Veritas, a Catholic university, where he pursued a master's degree in political theory. After teaching, he rented a place in Zuma II, a neighborhood just outside the university. His daughter was set to turn one in February, and the family was planning a celebration. One night, while Anyanwu was preparing a big meal, seventeen armed men broke into his house. The intruders, some wearing camouflage and carrying military-grade weapons, demanded that Anyanwu and Sunday Ujah, a twenty-year-old housekeeper, be subdued and searched for valuables. The kidnappers took only basic provisions like rice, groundnuts, soft drinks, and powdered milk, as there wasn't much of value in the house. The captives were then taken to a neighboring house to kidnap a local trader, but they ultimately decided not to proceed with the plan.\n\nThe kidnappers were all Fulani, a Muslim-majority ethnic group primarily found in the north of Nigeria. They operated with sophisticated weaponry and appeared to be associated with Boko Haram, although they did not explicitly claim allegiance to the group. The captives were held in a cave near a village called Tunga Maje during the rainy season, sleeping on leaves to avoid the wet ground. The kidnappers interrogated the hostages, attempting to profile them to determine the amount of ransom they could demand. Anyanwu tried to downplay his position at the university, but the men set a ransom of 150 million naira (approximately 200,000 dollars) for his release. They eventually agreed to a ransom of around 60,000 dollars, which his sister paid to the kidnappers.\n\nDuring the captivity, the kidnappers subjected Anyanwu and Ujah to physical abuse, including beatings with machetes, wires, and the butts of their guns, to intimidate his family into paying the ransom. After several weeks, the kidnappers informed Anyanwu that his family had not paid enough, leading to the brutal amputation of his left leg as punishment. Anyanwu pleaded with the kidnappers' boss to spare his leg, claiming he would bleed to death. Eventually, the kidnappers released Anyanwu and Ujah for the agreed-upon ransom amount.",
  "summary": "Thousands of people in Nigeria have been held for ransom by bandit groups. One professor escaped his captors—only to be abducted again.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}