By Mike Odeh James
EXCLUSIVE TO TRUTHNIGERIA
(Kaduna) As gunfire erupted in rural Afogo in Kajuru County, community, nurses Esther Maigari and Queen Dennis found themselves thrust into a nightmare.
“They burst from the bushes — 40 armed men on motorcycles,” Esther told TruthNigeria, recounting the February 20, 2024 ambush. “They forced us onto their bikes at gunpoint.”
The health workers had just finished vaccinating children in Libere village against polio, a disease ravaging northern Nigeria, when Fulani militants abducted them. “They’d been tracking us,” Queen explained. The terrorists then raided another village, brutally beating a nurse who resisted. Blindfolded and hauled into a forest camp, the women discovered a hidden network of huts housing wounded militants.
They Made Us Treat Their Fighters—Or Else
Forced into medical servitude, the nurses spent 30 days dressing gunshot wounds and treating ailments. “The camp commander said we’d be safe if we cooperated,” Esther recalled. Their captors rewarded successful treatments with canned beans, fish, and meat. But defiance came at a cost: “They didn’t want us helping other hostages. We insisted.”
Upon release, the nurses were given 50,000 naira ($34) each and ordered to return to their home villages. Instead, they changed their phone numbers and fled. “We can’t trust them,” Queen said. Their escape reveals a chilling pattern: Kajuru’s community leader confirmed repeated kidnappings of health workers, causing nurses to abandon rural posts. “No one feels safe,” he said.
On September 9, 2024, bandits launched a brazen attack on a Primary Health Care Centre in Kuyello, Birnin-Gwari County of Kaduna State. The assailants initially targeted a nearby Government Day Secondary School, arriving around 9:00 am, but found it empty. They then turned their attention to the healthcare centre, kidnapping two female nurses and several patients.
The bandits, armed with guns and machetes, dragged people out of the hospital, leaving the community in a state of panic.
Doctor Shot for Refusing to Be Field Medics for Terrorists.
The crisis escalated weeks later when Fulani militants stormed Kankara General Hospital on January 14, 2025.
Dr. Murtala Saleh was shot in the thigh for resisting abduction. “They wanted him to treat their wounded in the bush,” an eyewitness said. Nurse Kamala Suleiman, injured in the knee, survived the attack but three others were kidnapped.
Katsina Police spokesperson Abubakar Aliyu condemned the “brazen attack on healers,” but nurses say promises of protection ring hollow.
After colleague Yusuf Mohammed Mairuwa was abducted from Kankara Hospital on January 15, 2025, health workers across Katsina State threaten to withdraw services from nine high-risk districts.
We Can’t Heal When We’re Targets
“Bandits stalk our hospitals,” said Nura Muazu, chairman of Nigeria’s nurses’ union. “The government can’t guarantee our safety.” Despite a two-week ultimatum for action, officials offered no concrete plan. Now, rural clinics in areas like Batsari and Jibia lie empty, leaving vulnerable children unvaccinated and the sick untreated.
Leaders of Affected Communities Speak out
The President of the Birnin Gwari Emirate People’s Union (BEPU), Isah Muhammad Galadima, in an exclusive chat with TruthNigeria, noted that the bandits are kidnapping medical and health workers to attract the attention of federal and state governments.
“The bandits want the federal government and the state governments to focus their attention on them (the bandits/terrorists), and to a certain degree, they have succeeded,” Galadima said.
“They are also kidnapping these categories of workers so they can take them to the bush and force them to treat their wounded colleagues,” Galadima concluded.
Bulus Sunday, a community leader of Makori village in Kajuru County, echoed Galadima’s concerns.
“We have many unreported cases where nurses are specifically targeted here. Sometimes, the terrorists trail health workers from our primary healthcare centres, abduct them, take them to their camps, and then force them to treat their partners in crime. If the nurses or community health workers refuse to obey, they are shot and killed immediately,” Sunday said.
Mr. Sunday added that the constant targeting of health workers by armed groups has severely impacted rural healthcare.
“Nurses and community health workers are now afraid to treat patients in our areas. This has increased the death rate among pregnant women and infants,” he said.
For Esther Maigari and Queen Dennis, the trauma lingers. “Every night, I see their faces,” Esther whispered. “But if we stop vaccinating kids, polio wins.” Their story exposes a devastating toll: militants weaponizing healthcare, and communities caught between disease and violence.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
