By Segun Onibiyo
(Kaduna) Hauwa Adamu, the mother of popular Hausa musician Dauda Kahutu Rarara, was recently kidnapped and rescued after weeks in captivity. During her ordeal, she encountered Bala Timothy, a Christian man also held captive. Despite their religious differences, Bala fetched water for her so she could perform ablution and pray (Salah).
Hauwa recounted, “He was scheduled for release a day before I was brought into captivity. As he was about to leave, I kept saying, ‘Bala, you will leave me here? Okay, may God bless you.'” In a surprising act of compassion, Bala chose to stay with her, helping her for 18 days until she was also released.
Nigerian security agents have since arrested the mastermind behind the kidnapping and eliminated one of the participants.
Kidnapping has become endemic in Nigeria, with records showing hundreds killed between 2015 and the present under the APC government.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) indicates that between May 29, 2023, and May 22, 2024, there were 7,000 abductions.
In a telephone interview with Truth Nigeria, Dauda Kahutu Rarara expressed his gratitude: “I thank Almighty Allah for bringing my mother back in one piece. I also thank the security agencies, especially the office of the National Intelligence Agency headed by Nuhu Ribadu and the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their quick and prompt response. I also want to personally thank Bala Timothy for his heroic actions. His love and support for my mother are unprecedented, especially considering he is a Christian. His actions show why we as a people must unite and never let religion separate us. My mother spoke highly of him. I thank him sincerely.”
“Although we have not met (referring to Bala Timothy) we have spoken on the telephone, and I intend to invite him over as my mother insists, so the family can thank him.” Kahutu Rarara spoke in Hausa.
When asked if any ransom was paid to rescue his mother, Dauda Kahutu Rarara replied, “I can’t talk about that. Let us just thank Almighty Allah my mother returned in one piece,” he said, laughing.
In a separate telephone interview, Bala Timothy told TruthNigeria, “I feel satisfied with what I did. As a Christian and as someone fond of his mother, I couldn’t bear to leave her after seeing her struggle in the kidnappers’ den. I did what I did for God and humanity. Life in the hands of these kidnappers was gruesome. We ate once a day and sometimes drank water only once. We were chained together in pairs and often blindfolded. We sometimes drank our own urine to quench our thirst. We were fed cassava, dusa (corn chaff), biscuits, and sometimes went through the whole day without a meal.”
When asked if any ransom was paid for his release, Bala replied, “Well, I thank my church (name withheld for security reasons), friends, and family who rallied to raise the ransom to free me. The kidnappers, who were Fulanis based on their appearance, also helped us get out of the area to an awaiting motorbike before the military received us and brought us to town.”
Halima Adamu, 75, was reported kidnapped at her residence in Kahutu village of Danja LGA in Katsina state and spent 18 days with her captors. It is believed that a terrorist group belonging to Kachalla Ruga (High Chief of Ruga) was behind her kidnapping.
Segun Onibiyo is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
