‘Mama, I Will Die’: 13-year-old’s Final Words After Release From Captivity

The mother of 13-year-old Rachel Hassana Bulus has recounted how her daughter repeatedly told her that she would die shortly after regaining freedom from seven months in captivity, before eventually dying in hospital on the same day she was released.

Monica Bulus said her daughter was in a severely weakened condition when she returned from captivity and was immediately taken to Alheri Clinic, where the family struggled to obtain blood for a transfusion.

LEADERSHIP Weekend recalls that Hassana was among 11 people abducted on April 21, 2026, in Awon community, Kachia local government area of Kaduna State. She was released on November 3 but died hours later at a hospital.

Recounting her daughter’s final moments in an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Monica said she tried to reassure Hassana that she would survive, but the girl repeatedly insisted that she was going to die.

“She spoke to me and said, ‘Mama, I will die.’ I told her that by God’s grace, she would not die. But she insisted that she was going to die,” she recounted.

The mother said Hassana also told a woman who was crying beside her not to weep for her.

She further narrated that the girl’s grandfather visited her at the hospital, prompting Hassana to ask him to come closer because she wanted to speak with him.

According to Monica, her daughter appeared to improve slightly after receiving a blood transfusion and started speaking again.

She said Hassana subsequently asked her to bring her younger siblings because she wanted to see them.

Monica, a 36-year-old farmer and mother of five, described Hassana as one of her favourite children, saying her death had left her feeling as though a part of her was gone.

When asked whether her daughter was sexually assaulted during captivity, Monica Bulus said she could not confirm if any sexual assault had occurred.

Hassana’s father, Bulus Bawa, attributed his daughter’s deteriorating condition to hunger during captivity, alleging that the abductees were not adequately fed while being held in the bush.

He said the family paid N3 million to secure her release after seven months in captivity.

Recalling his daughter’s final words to him at the hospital, Bawa said she told him, “Daddy, I will die.”