Maryland Congregation Prays for End of Kidnapping Hell Forced upon Relatives in Nigeria
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James
(Kaduna) Exclusive to TruthNigeria: After collecting an agreed ransom of N10 million Naira ($6,200 dollars), kidnappers of Emmanuel Nyasom Jr, 54, have placed a new demand of N90 million Naira ($62,000 dollars) for his freedom, his family members have told TruthNigeria. Nyasom’s worried relatives in Ohio are as embroiled in the crisis as much as his immediate family in Kaduna City.
Nyasom’s nephew until recently was an associate pastor at a thriving congregation of Ecumenical Church Winning All in District Heights, Maryand on the border with Washington, D.C.
Speaking to TruthNigeria by phone to Rev. A.D. Adamu, nephew to hostage, emotionally described how his uncle was kidnapped in the bandits’ infested outskirts of Kontagora town, Kontagora county, Niger State, in Central Nigeria on October 31, 2024.
“I’m deeply concerned to share that my uncle, Emmanuel Jr., was kidnapped on October 31, 2024,” according to Rev. Adamu in Ohio. After four days of silence, the kidnappers contacted my maternal uncle, Monday Dyachim, to inform him that Emmanuel was in their custody. They demanded a ransom of N10 million naira (US6,200) for his release,” he said.
“Uncle Emmanuel had traveled to Kontagora in Niger State (From Kaduna, Kaduna State) for a construction contract and to check on his farm in Kontagora, which was ready for harvest,” Adamu said.
“Tragically, it was on this journey that he was abducted. We worked tirelessly to raise the N10 million Naira ($6,200 dollars) and the money was delivered to the kidnappers at the agreed location. However, they accepted the money but did not release him as promised. As of today, he remains in their possession,” he said.
“This morning, November 20, 2024, at 8:15 a.m. Nigerian time, we received another call from the kidnappers. They now demanded an additional 90 million naira, along with ten motorcycles, each costing N2.5 million Naira ($1,600 dollars),” Adamu said.
“They threatened to kill him if we do not meet these new demands,” Adamu said.
“Given the harsh economic conditions in our country, raising the initial N10 million Naira ($6,200 dollars) was already a monumental effort, and we simply cannot afford the additional amount they are asking for.
“We have done everything within our means to secure his release, and we are now pleading for assistance from anyone who can help us connect with the Nigerian government.
‘We urgently need intervention from the Army or other forces to rescue Emmanuel.
“This is not just about a ransom; it’s about a beloved family member who is suffering and in grave danger. Emmanuel is a kind and generous person, cherished by his family and friends. We fear for his life and are desperate to bring him home safely,” he pleaded.
Monday Dube Dyachim, a cousin of Emmanuel told TruthNigeria in Kaduna that Emmanuel is no longer held in Kontagora.
“When they made contact with me four days after his kidnap, I informed the military authority in Kontagora and gave them the phone number of the kidnapper I was speaking with. The number was tracked to a bush somewhere between Kebbi and Zamfara states (Northwest Nigeria where various bandits gangs are holding sway).
“But they returned him to the Kontagora area the day they collected the ransom. Now they have taken him back,” he said.
“We don’t know why the military cannot rescue him since they know where he is being held,” he said, expressing frustration.
“Emmanuel lost his wife last year and has eight children he is catering for,” he said.
“It is not possible for our family to raise that kind of money or buy those numbers of motorcycles,” he added.
“I spoke with him after they made the fresh demands, so I know that he is alive. The only way out now is his rescue,” he said.
In October 2024, a legislator from Niger state raised the alarm that bandits had taken over a military training facility there in Kontagora after sacking 23 communities. The Nigeria military swiftly denounced the story as false.
Kidnapping for ransom is at epidemic levels in Nigeria’s war zones, according to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa. The high kidnapping rate rose proportionately as predatory terrorist-bandit gangs gained strength in Zamfara State seven years ago and overflowed into all the states of the Northwest. Although little understood in the West, the so-called bandit gangs are composed of radicalized Islamist criminals who believe their criminality is justified in the name of Jihad.
The Belgium based research organization published its shocking quadrennial report in September reporting the following facts:
· Almost 56,000 people were killed in the context of terror groups between 2019 and 2023.
· Terrorism via kidnapping steadily increased in each of those years
· In 2020-1,665 abductions;
· In 2021 -5,907 abductions;
· In 2022 – 7,705 abductions;
· In 2023 – 6,225 abductions;
· “Overall, a Christian is 1.4 times more likely to be abducted than a Muslim; “
· “In terms of local population, around 5.1 Christians are abducted for every Muslim.”
As TruthNigeria, Catholic News Agency and The Epoch Times have documented in its reporting, the Christian population in Nigeria’s Middle Belt has been forced to abandon vast swaths of their native territory and shelter in squalid camps for Individual Displaced Persons.
“It’s little wonder that Christian populations are on the move,” according to the ORFA Report.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
