David Anyaele, Special Adviser to the Abia State Governor on Persons with Disabilities, has shared the terrifying experience he survived during the Sierra Leone civil war. In an interview with Channels Television, he explained how he and other Nigerians who had travelled for business were captured by fighters from the Revolutionary United Front, a rebel group known for extreme violence.
According to Anyaele, the rebels told them they had been instructed to kill every Nigerian because of Nigeria’s involvement in the ECOMOG peacekeeping mission. He said he begged them to release him and even offered them access to his home and warehouse, hoping they would spare his life. The rebels refused and told him to prepare for amputation.
Anyaele said he placed his left hand on a stool after they ordered him to do so. The rebels hacked it off with a machete while warning that his right hand would also be taken. He pleaded with them, saying he could pay any amount just to keep his remaining hand. The rebels insisted they were only following orders. A child soldier threatened to shoot him if he didn’t comply, forcing him to surrender his right hand, which was also cut off.
While he screamed in pain and called out to God, one of the rebels poured fuel on him and set him on fire. Their commander later realised what had happened and stopped the attack, saying Anyaele needed to survive long enough to return to Nigeria and share what the rebels were facing.
Barely alive, Anyaele crawled away until UN peacekeepers rescued him, bringing an end to a nightmare that changed his life forever.
In his words, “I said no, you can’t cut my two hands. I said any amount they want, I’m willing to pay for them to leave my right hand for me……See More
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