220 Kidnapped, $70,000 Paid in Ransoms to Fulani Terrorists: No Media Coverage
By Douglas Burton
(Washington) As 91,000 Americans recently let go from federal jobs worry about their severance this week, in balmy, leafy Kauru Nigeria, Solomon Tanimu thanks God that he got his family back from the kidnappers in time to harvest the ginger.
Kauru, a remote agricultural county in the eastern zone of the state bordering Bauchi and Plateau States may be called Nigeria’s “flyover country,” where hardworking ginger farmers make enough money to buy cars and send their children to college.
An elder in his local Baptist Church and a tribal chief in Kusheka (KU-she-kah) village, Tanimu, a 40-year-old farmer of ginger and father of five, was looking forward to rising prosperity until his life was shattered on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
That night Tanimu’s household was suddenly stormed by 14 Fulani ethnic militia carrying assault rifles.
According to Tanimu, the armed men – often called “bandits — broke into his house, abducting all members of his household except him before force-marching them to neighboring Kachia county 32 miles to the West.
“After several days of anxiety, they called me and demanded nine million naira, a recharge card worth 200,000 naira, two non-android phones, and two motor bikes” Tanimu told TruthNigeria.
“Their message was clear — after two weeks, all eight members of my family would be slaughtered,” he added.
In the end, he paid a total of 15 million naira ($8,000) to get 8 members of his family out.
Power of Prayer and Faith
All through the ordeal, Tanimu said he and his wife would go down on their knees morning and every night praying that God with preserve the lives of his children and others.
“On the last day of our ordeal, after my morning prayers, the leader of the terrorists called and gave me an unforgettable message” Tanimu told TruthNigeria.
“We wanted to kill your children,” the kidnapper said, “but we met three of them praying in the morning that God should spare our lives so that we would repent and turn to Christ,” the gang leader said.
“That prayer of my children so touched them that they decided not to kill them,” Tanimu said.
Kauru county, 90 miles east of Kaduna, is a Christian-dominated area with diverse ethnic groups, including Surubu, Bina, and Irigwe tribes. Ginger farming is the major occupation, with Kusheka being a central village, showcasing the area’s rich cultural mosaic.
More than 220 People Kidnapped, ₦136 Million ($70,000) Paid as Ransom in Kauru Between November 2024 and February 2025
Speaking to TruthNigeria, a community leader in Kusheka, Mr. Jaafaru Maigini, said that the experience of Mr. Tanimu is just one among many reports of atrocities.
A large terrorist compound near the town of Rijana in Chikun County is a torture camp for kidnap-for ransom hostages, TruthNigeria exclusively reported on Feb. 26, 2025. The camp was identified by 8 starved survivors who emerged on Feb. 24 and were assisted to return to their homes in Kaura by TruthNigeria’ sister organization, Equipping the Needy. Many of the captives taken from Kusheka in January are being held in Rijana, according to witnesses from Kauru who asked not to be identified.
Communities in Kauru recently have witnessed a disturbing surge in kidnappings. “At least 220 people have been abducted by Fulani terrorists between November 2024 and February 2025, according to him,” according to Maigini. “Facts were gathered from community leaders and individuals affected by the attacks.”
The abductions, which spanned several communities, were accompanied by ransom payments totalling approximately ₦136 million naira, TruthNigeria was told.
The kidnappings occurred across villages, including Kuvoh, Ung Idi, Surubu-Da, Kusheka, Farin Gada Kusheka, Ungwa Wakili Surubu, Bandi, and others.
According to Maigini and Tanimu, some of the victims were released after ransom payments, while others remain in captivity.
Absence of Security Formations and Amnesty Deals Fueling a Kidnapping Epidemic
Kauru County in Kaduna State has become a dangerous haven for terrorists, operating with impunity due to the complete absence of military formations, forward operating bases, or even basic police checkpoints, locals told TruthNigeria. This security vacuum has left the area’s residents defenseless, while organized criminal gangs exploit the lack of state presence to carry out mass kidnappings and targeted killings.
The situation has devolved to alarming levels, according to Maigini, “Kauru county does not have any military base or police checkpoints, so the terrorists come and go as they please — kidnapping, killing, and extorting residents without any resistance,” Maigini told TruthNigeria.
Efforts to draw government attention to the escalating violence have so far yielded promises but no action, he explained.
“We informed the county Chairman, and we even took our case directly to the Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa. They all assured us that action would be taken immediately, but to date, we have seen no meaningful response on the ground,” Maigini said.
Since Nigerian news reporters follow press releases from military spokesmen, no announcements of kidnappings meant no bad news for authorities, since no independent media were on hand to interview relations of the victims.
The absence of security infrastructure in Kauru may have emboldened the terrorists probing for soft targets for the lucrative kidnap-for-ransom industry.
Tanimu, a tribal leader representing the Surubu people, reinforced the same concerns, highlighting how ungoverned spaces have turned the area into a free corridor for criminal gangs.
“There is no military presence in Kauru or in the surrounding communities near Kusheka. This absence of security forces is the primary reason kidnappings have become so rampant,” Tanimu said.
The Amnesty That Backfired: Did Birnin Gwari Deal Drive Terrorists into Kauru?
In addition to the security void, a controversial amnesty program spearheaded by Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani is widely seen by locals as another factor fueling Kauru’s plight.
Under the program, self-proclaimed “repentant” Fulani terrorists operating in Birnin Gwari (in the far western border territory of Kaduna) were granted amnesty in exchange for promises to halt their activities in that region. However, the deal’s unintended consequence has been a migration of criminal elements into neighboring local government areas, including Kauru.
Rev. David Ayuba Azzaman, an outspoken Kaduna-based Christian cleric, told TruthNigeria that the policy has only emboldened terrorists and worsened insecurity in Southern Kaduna.
“The decision by Governor Sani to grant amnesty to self-proclaimed repentant Fulani terrorists last December who claimed to have repented has directly fueled terrorist operations in Southern Kaduna, particularly in Kauru,” Azzaman said.
Rather than abandoning their criminal activities, Azzaman explained, the terrorists merely shifted their operations to new territories.
“They simply agreed not to kidnap or kill in Birnin Gwari anymore. Instead, they migrated into Kauru and Lere (County), where they continue their atrocities unchecked,” Azzaman revealed.
Compounding the crisis, Azzaman further disclosed that ongoing military offensives against terrorist camps in Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto have inadvertently driven more criminal mercenaries into Southern Kaduna, turning areas such as Kaura, Kajuru, and Kauru into havens for displaced terrorist cells.
Despite the multiple warnings from community leaders and religious figures, no concrete action has been taken to address the dangerous combination of state neglect, ill-conceived amnesty deals, and the unchecked flow of terrorists into Kauru.
Douglas Burton is the managing editor of TruthNigeria.com. Staffers at TruthNigeria contributed interviews with all witnesses cited.
