Released Hostages Return in Dire Conditions, Recount Horrors at Hands of Kidnappers
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James
Exclusive to TruthNigeria (Kaduna, Nigeria) – After three harrowing months in captivity, eight abductees emerged on Monday following payment of a ₦40 million ($27,000 USD) ransom to Fulani Ethnic Militia operating a hidden torture camp in Kachia County. The county is home to Table Hill Army Training Area and the Nigerian Army School of Artillery, among other military sites.
The heavily armed kidnappers had seized them Dec 2, 2024 from their homes in Kauru County, Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria. The 26 Pentecostal Christians were marched more than 30 miles over a four-day period until they came to be chained in a compound deep in the forest near the village of Rijana, approximately 28 miles south of Kaduna City.
The Rijana Village, a neighborhood on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, has been an infamous kidnapping haven for more than eight years. It was in the news on Feb. 18 when the Nigerian National Security advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, presented 59 hostages to the Kaduna governor that the army had collected from Rijana.
“The hostages who had been abducted along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway, particularly at Rijana community, had been rescued by a joint team of military and intelligence forces,” according to a post on the homepage of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.
Yet, TruthNigeria can exclusively report that as many as 200 tortured hostages remain in a forested compound near Rijana and are in danger of execution any day. The 8 released captives interviewed on Feb 23 by TruthNigeria reporters had been whipped and starved by Fulfulde-speaking kidnappers for close to 90 days before their N40 million ransom had been paid.
Among those kidnapped was Joel Nuhu, a 27-year-old Christian cleric and graduate of the Christian Missionary Society Theological College in Saminaka, in Lere County on the border between Kaduna and Plateau States approximately 36 miles east of Kaduna city. He had been eagerly awaiting his posting to begin missionary work when Fulani terrorists launched a brutal attack on his village in Kauru, abducting him and 31 others, including his family members.
Terrorists Storm Bandi Village
In an exclusive interview with TruthNigeria, Joel’s elder brother, Simon Nuhu, recounted the nightmarish events of December 2, 2024.
“On that fateful night, the terrorists sneaked into our village and kidnapped 32 people, including my mother, younger brothers, and two sisters—one just six years old,” Nuhu said.
Nuhu and his father were away at the time, but 10 members of their immediate family were taken, along with 22 other villagers. That night, six of the abductees managed to escape.
Four Days of Torturous Trek
Speaking in Maro town, Kajuru County, just hours after his release, a frail and malnourished Joel Nuhu recounted the terrifying ordeal in a barely audible voice.
“They came in dozens in the dead of night, and suddenly, gunfire erupted, throwing our village into chaos,” he recalled.
The terrorists went from house to house, forcing people out at gunpoint and making them lie face down as they looted food and money.
“We were gathered on a farm and forced to carry heavy loads of stolen goods before being marched off into the unknown,” he said.
Forced to walk barefoot for hours, the hostages suffered cuts from thorns and sharp rocks, all while being beaten and prodded to move faster.
By the next morning, six captives had escaped, angering their captors. Over the next three days and nights, the hostages endured relentless beatings, hunger, and exhaustion as they trekked deeper into the forest.
On the fourth day, they reached a location where motorcycles were waiting to transport them to the terrorists’ camp.
“About 40 motorcycles were lined up to take us away,” Nuhu recalled.
Life in Captivity
Upon arrival at the camp, the captives were subjected to a brutal two-hour beating.
“They sprayed us with some kind of substance to weaken us,” Nuhu said.
They were then bound with heavy chains, shackled at the hands and feet, and linked together, making movement nearly impossible.
“We remained in chains for days and weeks,” he said.
The captives were deliberately starved, and some died. They were allowed a small portion of boiled corn flour once every two weeks, and they were given only small portions of water daily while watching their captors treat themselves to lavish meals, alcohol, and drugs.
Another released victim, Boaz Nuhu, recounted how teenage Fulani boys were assigned to torture them for at least two hours daily.
“These young boys were given whips and sticks to beat us mercilessly,” he said.
Even basic needs such as relieving themselves came with pain.
“If you wanted to defecate or urinate, one guard would unchain you while another stood over you, flogging you as you went,” Boaz Nuhu explained.
Brothers Executed in Front of Their Mother
The terrorists took extreme measures to instill fear. Boaz Nuhu recalls the public execution of two of his brothers.
One morning, the camp leader, known as Ardo, stormed in, enraged.
“He shouted in Hausa, ‘Where are the Nuhu family?’” Boaz recalled.
Holding a pistol, Ardo demanded their presence.
“Your negotiators think we’re joking. We will teach them a lesson now.”
In a cold-blooded execution, two of Boaz’s brothers were shot dead in front of their mother. Their bodies were then disposed of—likely dumped in the forest or a nearby river.
Death by Starvation
Hunger was a silent killer in the camp.
Boaz tearfully recounted how his 10-year-old brother, Matthias, succumbed to starvation.
“He kept crying, ‘I am hungry, my stomach hurts,’ until one evening, he just went limp. That’s how he died,” Boaz said.
Survivors estimate that at least 20 captives—mostly new-borns and toddlers—have died from malnutrition, while adults have perished from starvation and illness.
Hundreds Still in Captivity
Before their release, they left behind more than 200 hostages from various towns in Kaduna State still in captivity, including 18 villagers from their community. The kidnappers are now demanding ₦60 million ($60,000 USD) for their release.
A TruthNigeria reporter assisted in driving the hostages to a medical facility in Kauru County where all are under the care of physicians.
The large holding camp is the second such compound reported by TruthNigeria. Two men from Gonin Gora, a suburb of Kaduna city, were tortured in similar fashion by Fulani ethnic militia in Giwa County of Kaduna in February 2024 for 37 harrowing days and released. Both men returned to their families impoverished and suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh James are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
