Equipping the Needy Initiative Brings Hope to Terror Victims in Killing Fields of Kaduna State
By Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat
(Kaduna) Some were crawling, some struggled to speak, but all were still in the fight for survival when a US-based missionary team met them Monday afternoon in a dense forest in Kaduna State, Nigeria. In a secret compound near Rijana, 21 miles south of Kaduna City, for 85 days mothers saw their children die from bullets and starvation, all for lack of a ransom to Islamist kidnappers. But on Monday Feb. 24, 8 survivors were freed after the kidnappers got the ransom of $30,000 from relatives as a TruthNigeria reporter took their stories on video.
The next day, Equipping the Needy Initiative (ETNI), a partner organization of Equipping the Persecuted based in the USA, dispatched a high-level delegation to a rural area of Kauru County in Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.
The delegation’s mission was to conduct a needs assessment for the recently released victims, who had been held under conditions eerily reminiscent of Nazi-era atrocities.
The delegation, led by Gloria Arams, Head of Operations at ETNI, included the media crew of the organization as well as the media team from TruthNigeria.com
The team visited victims who were recovering at Cocin Hospital in Daurawa, located in Kauru, just a few miles from where the kidnappings took place.
Arams spoke with Pastor Joel Nuhu, 27, who had been kidnapped just days before his official posting. She further held discussions with Joel’s stepmother, Liatu Nuhu and his older half-brother, Simon Nuhu, who all recounted their harrowing experiences at the hands of their captors—suspected Fulani terrorists.
In response, Gloria Arams expressed her sympathy and explained that Equipping the Needy would, within a few days, send relief materials or financial support to help cover their medical bills and ease their burdens.
Harsh Treatment at the Camp
Liatu Jibril, one of the survivors, provided a detailed account of her experience in captivity. She was abducted from her village in Bandi in Kauru County by armed Fulani militants and, along with several others, was forced to march for over three days, covering more than thirty miles on foot. Their destination was a location the captors referred to as “Rijana.”
“They made us walk day and night,” Jibril said. “There were no breaks except when someone collapsed.” Upon arrival at Rijana, the captives were met by individuals on motorcycles who transported them the final distance to the main camp.
Conditions in the camp were extremely harsh. Food was given only in two-week intervals and was nutritionally inadequate. “We were given food only once every two weeks,” Jibril explained. “It was a thin corn-flour paste with no salt or soup. Between those meals, we ate grass, cashew leaves, mango leaves, or anything we could find.” There was no access to clean water. Captives relied on a nearby river, which was also used for defecation, bathing, and waste disposal.
“The same river we drank from was where we bathed and relieved ourselves,” Jibril said. “The militants also dumped bodies into it.” Exposure, malnutrition, and disease were widespread, and those who became too weak were left untreated. Many died.”
She further said that the terrorists shot two of her relatives, and a third died of starvation. According to her account, “the terrorist camp was a hub of heavily armed individuals. More than 100 terrorists constantly moved in and out of the camp,” she said.
“The terrorists are over 100 in that camp,” she went on to say, “and they were coming in and going out,” she recalled. These terrorists were well-equipped with AK-49 rifles and utilized walkie-talkies for communication.
The camp was the scene of relentless brutality, with the terrorists bringing in more kidnapped victims and executing people at will. The situation took a dire turn when the Nigerian Army attempted to rescue the captives, sparking a firefight, she said. The terrorists fought back ferociously, repelling the army’s attack.
In the aftermath of the battle, the terrorists boasted about their victory, claiming to have killed four soldiers, while buringing their Armoured Personnel Carrier. “After the battle, the terrorists came to tell us that they had successfully repelled the Nigerian Army attack, and they had killed a number of them while burning their Armoured Personnel Carrier,” she said.
The terrorists also made it clear they would hold the captives until their ransom demands were met. Jibril’s account aligns with testimonies from other survivors, painting a consistent picture of the conditions experienced by those held in similar camps.
The Nuhu Family Thanks Equipping The Needy Initiative
On behalf of the rest of the family and other kidnapped victims, Simon Nuhu, the elder brother to the kidnapped victims, expressed gratitude to Equipping the Needy Initiative and Equipping the Persecuted for taking the time to visit them in their remote village.
“I wish to thank Equipping The Needy Initiative for coming here to check on us. We really appreciate this gesture,” he said.
Equipping The Needy Meets Victims’ Needs
Within 48 hours, Simon Nuhu confirmed receiving financial assistance from Equipping the Needy Initiative. “I have received a huge sum, and we will use it to cover medical bills for my mother, sister, and brothers. We are very grateful.”
Equipping the Needy Initiative in Nigeria and It’s partner body, Equipping the Persecuted, based in Washington DC USA have in recent times contributed to Christian who are victims of Fulani terrorists in Nigeria. The organisation had donated relief materials to terror victims in Ayati, Benue State, Kajuru county terror victims in Kaduna and the Kuchingoro Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Abuja .
Mike Odeh James and Luka Binniyat are conflict reporters for TruthNigeria.
