Tanzanian abducted in Nigeria narrates ordeal

Tanzanian Frater Melkiori Dominick Mahinini, 27, who was abducted in Nigeria, with the kidnappers demanding $70,000 (Sh170 million) in ransom, told The Citizen in an interview that the three weeks of his captivity were characterised by blood, sweat and tears.

Mr. Mhanini, was sent to Nigeria by the Missionaries of Africa to study, comes from Kabanga Parish in Kigoma Region.

The Major Seminarian was abducted by unknown people on August 3, 2023 at the Saint Luke Gyedna Parish in Minna Province.

He was abducted alongside Fr Paul Sanogo of Mali and the duo were held captive for almost three weeks.

The frater and the co-abductee were safely freed on August 23 following efforts made by the Tanzania High Commissioner to Nigeria’s office, Federal Government of Nigeria and Catholic Church in Nigeria and Tanzania.

During the interview, Mr Mahinini says they were abducted at the wee hours of August 3, East African time, but it was August 2 in Nigerian time.

Mr Mhanini says he had just finished a phone conversation with a Tanzania friend living in Nigeria when he heard the sound of gunfire.

The frater says he asked himself where the shooting originated from, noting that he ignored in the first place thinking they could be hunters.

“The sound repeated after the next few minutes, something that forced me to peep outside in order to establish what was happening,” he says.

“With my room located upstairs, I saw two gunmen entering the premises and starting to inspect rooms one by one. However, I jumped out through the window the moment they were entering my room,” adds the Major Seminarian.

He says he broke his toes when he landed, but did not feel pain immediately.

He managed to hide in the garden without knowing that there were two other gunmen there.

“They seized me and threatened to kill me if I did not provide my boss’s whereabouts. Using my little understanding of the Hausa language, I told them that I didn’t know whereabouts of my boss was,” he says.

“I took them to my room, deceiving them that it belonged to my boss. There was over Sh400,000 in Tanzania currency and an ATM card with Sh500,000 in it. The gunmen collected everything, including clothes,” he adds.

The gunmen told him that the money was insufficient and took him downstairs where he was joined with a colleague from Mali, Priest, Fr Sanogo.

The gunmen wanted to know where the other seminarians were, threatening to blow up the whole building.

“They were about 12 in number. Everybody was holding a gun and ammunition. However, we didn’t want to disclose that we were missionaries because they would increase pressure and the amount of money in ransom,” Mahinini says.

He says they were both taken into a dense forest where they were questioned, noting that they strictly decided to hide their identities by telling them that they had come to Nigeria for language learning.

Major Seminarian told them that he was a farmer, while Fr Sanogo identified himself as a cook whose parents have retired.

“They said we should talk to our boss as they demanded 100 million naira in ransom. We shared his number with them and the conversation, he expressed readiness to pay the money, but the quick decision aimed at avoiding any dangers to us,” he says.

However, after some time they lost the hope they had of getting the money, therefore they increased threats that we would be killed if 80 million Naira wouldn’t be paid.

He says they started fasting and praying to God that they should escape safely from the hands of abductors.

According to him, after some time, abductors started becoming weak, something that encouraged them to increase prayers.

“They started fighting each other as we increased prayers held silently. This is because abductors were not Christians, therefore we considered it more dangerous if they would have known our religious affiliation.

“Worshippers at the Diocese of Minna started to collect contributions in order to pay for us. But, reaching the third week, abductors were weaker than ever, therefore increasing threats of killing us,” he adds.

However, we increased prayers which resulted in intensified divisions among abductors, therefore failing to implement the killing intention.

He says a person they were contacting told them that they had managed to collect a certain amount that was agreed by abductors who were by that time facing a strong financial crunch.

“We were released at 11am of August 23, after concluding that it was difficult to get even 25 million naira they targeted after failure to get initial demands,” he said.

After release, Mr Mhanini says the challenge was how to get out of the dense forest which is located about 100 kilometre to a place with human settlement.

He says they walked by foot heading to an unknown destination until 9pm to 10pm when they reached the village where some people were singing worship songs.

They followed the congregation after believing that they were colleagues in Christ and Frater Mhanini managed to speak to them in Hausa.

“I told them that we are going to Abuja, therefore we are asking for their help. They understood and took us on motorbikes to a nearby parish where we were received and given first aid,” he narrates.

“We were tired and our legs were swollen because of walking a long distance. They made a call to Minna Diocese who arrived to collect us,” he adds.

He says they were taken to a health centre for medical check-ups and treatment, thanking God for responding to prayers of all those who joined them during the dark moment.

Regarding returning home, Major Seminarian Mhanini says he has the plan though he couldn’t establish the date, however, he insisted that he will not run away from Nigeria because of what has transpired.

Mr. Mhanini insists that he will continue with the mission as planned, saying Nigeria was a good country despite a few individuals who would like to get money without doing any work.