Kidnapping Impoverishes and Subjugates Christian Citizens, Leading to Displacement: Christian Leader
By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat
(Kaduna) Until Sunday, August 4, Nancy Garba, a 29-year-old trader and farmer, was facing an unimaginable nightmare. She has only two weeks to raise a staggering seven million Nigerian naira to save the lives of her loved ones. Fulani kidnappers were holding her mother, younger brother, sister-in-law, and two neighbors captive, threatening to execute them if the ransom weren’t paid on time. Nancy was racing against the clock to secure their release, her family’s fate hanging precariously in the balance.
But Nancy Garba’s prayers were answered last Sunday. “My mother, my brother, sister in-law walked into our compound on Sunday,4 August 2024. They had been held for two months and some days,” Nancy Garba said in tears.
“No police, no state government, no federal government made any attempt to show empathy,” Nancy told TruthNigeria.
“Despite all our ordeals and those of the people of Ungwan Mission Pamfura, the state government and federal government have remained silent even when they knew about our ordeal,” she said.
“The police just came only once, but since then, they have not. As for the state government, not a word,” she said.
Nancy Garba’s life was forever changed on June 2, 2024, when terror struck the tranquil village of Ungwa Mission Pamfura Kujama in Chikun County, Kaduna State. Fulani kidnappers descended upon the sleepy community like a deadly storm, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. (Fulani people of Nigeria are 9 million strong and have been linked to Nigeria’s ruling class for decades.) In a heart-wrenching instant, five innocent lives had been ripped from their homes, including Nancy’s mother, younger brother, sister-in-law, and two neighbors.
Forced to find $6,700 or lose loves ones
Nancy recounts the harrowing experience of receiving a call from the kidnappers a few days after the abduction. “Initially, they asked for 100 million naira and a bike,” she said. The kidnappers were specific about their demands, insisting that the bike be sourced from a particular store in Kano.
“They also told us that the bike can only be sourced in Kano, so they gave us a particular store to go and get the bike that is in Kano,” she said.
“After much pleading, the terrorists agreed that we can pay $7,000,” Nancy said. This is a huge amount of money given that Nigeria’s minimum wage was N30,000 Naira ($19).
However, the kidnappers remained firm on their demand for the motorbike, worth N1 million, ($700), to be taken to them in the forest. The ultimatum was clear: “pay the ransom and deliver the bike, or risk losing their loved ones.”
There was then a race against time to meet the kidnappers’ demands for the release of her relatives, Habiba Garba, Franca Garba, Shekwolo Garba, Felicia Ishaku, and Yimi Ishaku.
Christians, Christian villages Targeted By Fulanis Despite Security Presence
Christian villages in the surrounding areas of Kujama, approximately 10 miles from Kaduna city, seem to have been targeted by Fulani kidnappers. Whereas Hausa Muslim communities in the area have witnessed scant kidnapping, there have been numerous kidnappings and displacement of majority-Christian villagers. “Villages such as Kafari, Tashan Icha, Damishi Mamara, Ungwar Kaje, and Maraban Rido are under siege,” said Nancy about her neighboring communities.
Barrister Bulus Kanwa, 45, a private attorney and a cousin to one of the abductees, shared his eyewitness account with TruthNigeria: “I’ve seen how Christian families have been reduced to poverty due to the excessive financial demands of the terrorists,” he said.
Godwin Garba, husband to Franca Garba, one of the five people kidnapped, said that he had to negotiate with the kidnappers for two months. He then sold virtually all his properties, including his family ancestral lands.
“When they called initially, they demanded $14,000, but they had to step down when they discovered that we are not rich. They settled for $7,000. They then asked me to buy 10 bags of 50 kilograms of rice, 10 bags of beans, and two 50 litres gallons of palm oil,” Godwin said.
“However, I am virtually a broken man financially,” Godwin continued. “My family and I are now living from hand to mouth. We have no farms, no land or trade any more.
After the second payment of $3,400, the five captives who were held for two months and four days in the hands of the Fulani terrorists were released from the forest of Rijana in Chikun County.
Kidnapping, Land Grabbing and Islamisation
“The mass kidnapping of Christians here and the huge ransoms they extract is to use our resources to fund their criminality,” Engr. Samuel Taraba, the President of the Southern Kaduna People Union (SOKAPU), told TruthNigeria. SOKAPU is the umbrella socio-cultural body of the 67 ethnic Christian nationalities of Southern Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.
“So, we are forced to pay them to kill us and take over our lands.” Taraba observed that the Fulani herdsmen are waging and undeclared war on the Middle Belt of Nigeria with the aim of land grabbing and expanding Islam.
“I have made extensive research on the cruelty carried out against the Christians of Southern Kaduna and the Middle Belt by Fulani Herdsmen, who hide under the cover of Islam to terrorise us, Taraba said, adding: “I can absolutely tell you that they are waging an undeclared war against us with the most important objective of totally impoverishing us at taking over our lands.
“The sole aim is to displace us from our lands, plant their population and expand the influence of Islam in the Middle Belt,” Taraba said.
Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria in Kaduna state.
