Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has called upon the Nigerian government to do more to secure the release of dozens of Christians abducted by Fulani militia.
On Easter Sunday the militants attacked First ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) Church and St Augustine Catholic Church in the Ariko community of Kachia. Seven people were killed and 37 kidnapped during the attacks.
Weeks later, on 20 April, another 11 people were captured in Awon village, also in Kachia.
Reports suggest the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 300 million Naira (£165,000) and 23 motorcycles. A counteroffer from locals of a few million Naira was rejected and came with added threats that the victims would be denied food until their demands were met.
After months in captivity, some of the victims have died. In June it was reported that a young girl and her mother died of “extreme hunger”. Other reports suggest that the prisoners are forced to sleep in an open-air camp, causing some of the children to fall sick.
One person who was recently released said they had witnessed the bodies of two men, two women and three children being thrown over a slope. One of the dead was a two-week-old baby born in captivity.
Mervyn Thomas, Founder President of CSW, said, “Abductees from Ariko and Awon villages are slowly dying due to the inhumane conditions in which they are being held.
"It is deeply perplexing that their captors expect poor rural farming communities to source such extortionate sums swiftly.
"We urge both state and federal authorities to make every effort to secure the release of the surviving victims, and to bring all perpetrators to justice.”
The Nigerian government has insisted that it does not pay ransoms to kidnappers, however following a number of high-profile cases in which victims were released, questions have been asked about how exactly these releases were achieved.
