Azurfa, freed train victim: Terrorist commander proposed marriage, but I declined

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

Azurfa Lois John, a recently freed train victim and Kaduna State University student, has said she has forgiven the terrorists who held them captive for over six months, insisting that one of the terrorist commanders had proposed marriage to her in the forest but she politely declined.

Azurfa, who spoke to journalists in Kaduna, was rescued by the military along with 22 other passengers who were kidnapped by terrorists in March 2022 on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train.

“Yes, it is true that one of the terrorist commanders chose and proposed to marry me, but it was just an offer, and I rejected it,” the 21-year-old said while recounting her ordeal in captivity. They do not force people if you reject them.

“I wasn’t the only one who was offered to marry by the terrorists. They’d simply say, “I want to marry you, I want to keep you, and I want you to change your religion and convert to mine.” So it is up to you to agree or disagree.

“From the first day of my captivity, I had no idea that one day I would be free again.” I was just praying and counting down the days until I could leave the camp. The news of his departure from the terrorists’ camp was unexpected.

“The news that we were leaving the camp arrived unexpectedly. The terrorists arrived and asked us to begin packing our belongings. It took a week of preparation until the final day, when they asked us to leave and handed us over to the Presidential Committee.

“Now that I’m free, I’ve forgiven my kidnappers in the same way that God forgives our sins.” All of that is now in my past, as are the terrorists; it is over, and I have no ill will toward them.”

She claimed that on that fateful day, “terrorists stormed the train in a commando-like fashion, shooting indiscriminately and ordering everyone to exit.”

“From the attack site, I saw that the train had just derailed, that the terrorists had entered the train, started shooting sporadically, and asked us to get out.” The men were then restrained and our phones were collected.

“That night, we walked a short distance before motorcycles arrived and took us away, and we traveled for four days before arriving at the main camp, which became our home for the next six months.”

“Because we cooked in the morning and evening, we ate twice a day.” They got us drugs whenever we were sick. Terrorists have doctors who come around to provide medical care.”

Azurfa is the only girl among four siblings and the last born at Kaduna State University’s Department of Agriculture.

According to sources, they lost their parents within two months of each other in 2020, and Moses, her eldest brother, has since taken on the role of a father figure in the family.