Others were accepted but I was rejected thrice at ritualists’ den – Rivers’ abducted nurse

An 18-year-old auxiliary nurse, Rachael David, has relived her close shave with death at a suspected ritual killers’ den in Rivers State after she was kidnapped at Okuru Junction, Port Harcourt.

David, who is currently receiving treatment in a hospital, regained her freedom around 5pm on Friday.

The teenager had gone to buy something at the junction around 7am on Thursday and was returning home when a motorist signalled to her, asking for direction to Bitter Leave Junction.

She told Punch on Saturday that as she was describing the place to the driver, she was hypnotised and lost her senses until she arrived at an unknown destination.

David explained, “I went to get something at Okuru Junction that Thursday morning before going to work. I didn’t get what I went to buy. While I was returning home, a driver blew the car horn to call my attention and I stopped. A lady was at the back of the car. He asked me if I know any place called Bitter Leave Junction and I said yes. As I was trying to direct him, he said he couldn’t hear me clearly and told me to come closer.

“He touched me and I didn’t know if I entered the car or not. By the time I regained consciousness, I was already in an unknown place. They had blindfolded me and tied my hands. I couldn’t tell the time of the day.”

The teenager stated that the abductors took her and some other victims to a gang suspected to be ritual killers, adding that all but her were accepted.

She said on Friday morning, the kidnappers took her and another set of victims to a spot while they remained blindfolded.

David recalled, “I was still rejected. After some hours, they took me and some victims somewhere blindfolded. One man asked them why they kept bringing me and told them to return me to where they picked me as fast as possible.

“Even though I couldn’t see what was going on in that place, it appears like a ritual killers’ den. I was the only person they rejected. I was rejected thrice. While I was in captivity, new victims were brought in. The abductors put me in the car and drove off. When we got to a spot along the road, they stopped, removed the blindfold and pushed me out of the car.”

David said she managed to untie herself and later found out from passersby that she was at Rumuokoro, Port Harcourt.

“The kidnappers didn’t take away my phone so I quickly called my mum. I had fainted before they came. It was this morning (Saturday) when I woke up that I realised I am in the hospital,” she added.

David’s elder sister, Joy, told Sunday Punch that the family was excited to see her again, noting that the incident was reported at the Amadi Police Division.

She said, “She was unconscious when we found her. Policemen followed us to pick her up at Rumuokoro where she was abandoned. She went to buy a pad at Okuru Junction when the motorists stopped her.”

The Rivers State police spokesperson, Nnamdi Omoni, did not pick up our correspondent’s calls and had yet to reply to a text message sent to him on the incident as of press time.