Christian Farm Families Abandon Villages in Droves
By Mike Odeh James
(Kaduna — BREAKING) Kidnappings by Fulani terrorists continued across Kajuru County [Local Government Area] in Nigeria’s Kaduna State in late January, just days after the abduction of 166 Christians from Kurmin Wali, raising renewed concerns over the government’s ability to contain armed groups operating in the region.
Despite assurances by Kaduna State authorities that the victims taken on January 18 would be rescued, local leaders and residents say attacks have persisted, with at least 16 additional Christians kidnapped in separate incidents across Kajuru County within one week.
Kajuru County lies roughly 38 miles south of Kaduna city and includes predominantly Christian farming communities made up largely of the Adara and Gbagyi ethnic groups. Residents rely heavily on agriculture, cultivating crops such as tomatoes and peppers.
Local officials and community leaders said armed Fulani groups have intensified raids on rural settlements , moving abductees into forest camps near Rijana (in Chikun Local Government Area) and two large holding camps in Kachia Local Government Area). The raid on poorly defended farming villages in the last year appear to be accelerating locals tell TruthNigeria.
The affected communities are largely inhabited by Adara ethnic Christians, while local leaders, survivors, and regional associations consistently identify the attackers as Fulani terrorists operating from forest camps across Kajuru County.
Raids in Kikwere
According to Chief Simone Maisamari, the village head overseeing Kikwere Wards 1 and 2, armed Fulani terrorists attacked Kikwere (also known locally as Kikwari), a remote Adara Christian farming settlement about 40 miles south of Kaduna, on January 20, abducting seven young men and stealing four motorcycles.
“They came on foot, about ten of them, carrying rifles and machetes,” Maisamari said. “They ordered everyone to lie down, selected seven young men, took our motorcycles, and ransacked our food barns before leaving.”
The attack followed a similar raid on December 18, 2025, when five Adara Christian men were abducted from the same area. The community raised about $1,700 in ransom by selling farmland and agricultural produce. The captives were released on December 25.
“They told us they would not return,” Maisamari said. “But they came back again.”
Villages Abandoned
In Kikwere 1, the effects of repeated attacks are stark. Community leader David Auta said the Adara Christian village has been largely abandoned after years of violence.
“This school used to have about 70 students,” Auta said, pointing to a dilapidated primary school. “Now it is empty.”
Nearly all of the village’s estimated 100 huts have been destroyed or abandoned, leaving only a vandalized church standing. Once home to about 1,000 Adara Christians, Kikwere 1 and 2 now have fewer than 50 residents combined.
“There is no farming anymore. Children no longer go to school,” Auta said. “People are hungry. We feel completely abandoned.”
Further Abductions in Mararaban Kajuru
The violence extended to Mararaban Kajuru, a semi-urban settlement about 41 miles south-southwest of Kaduna with a large Adara Christian population, in the early hours of January 25, when Fulani terrorists abducted six people in coordinated raids.
Ishaya Dansallah, whose son Augustine and daughter-in-law Ruth were taken, said he received a call around 2 a.m.
“When I arrived, the door had been broken down. My son and his wife were gone,” he said. “Their young daughter was left outside in the cold.”
In a neighboring compound, armed men threatened a 12-year-old Adara Christian girl, Happiness Dauda, pointing guns at her and demanding to know her mother’s whereabouts.
“They told me they would shoot me if I cried,” the girl said.
Her sick mother was beaten and dragged away, along with her younger brother. Another Adara Christian couple was abducted from a nearby home, bringing the total number of victims in Ungwan Mission to six, according to Ado Alipiri, chairman of the Kajuru County Internally Displaced Persons Association.
Communities Caught Between Ransom and Survival
On January 29, families of those abducted in Mararaban Kajuru began receiving ransom calls. Dansallah said the Fulani terrorists briefly allowed his son to speak before demanding about $67,000 for the release of the couple.
Alipiri said additional demands were made: about $47,000 from the Danladi family and another $47,000 from the family of Yahaya Muazu and his wife, Alheri.
“In total, Adara Christian families are being asked to raise about $160,000 for six people,” Alipiri said.
Kidnap Gangs Seeking Combined Ransom of $732,000
Alipiri also confirmed that four Adara Christians were kidnapped on January 19 at Maro Crossing, a small Adara-inhabited farming and transit community south of Mararaban Kajuru, along rural routes leading into the forest belt.
Combined with the abductions in Kikwere and Mararaban Kajuru, at least 16 Adara Christians were kidnapped in Kajuru County between January 17 and January 27.
Joel Onoma Mark, chairman of the Adara Development Association, said intelligence indicates the same Fulani terrorist group responsible for the Kurmin Wali mass kidnapping is behind the latest attacks.
“They have now split into smaller units and moved across multiple camps,” he said. “This makes them harder to track.”
Counting the 166 people abducted from Kurmin Wali on Jan. 18, as of Jan. 29 there are 183 Christian residents from Kajuru in the hands of Fulani terrorist kidnappers. According to analysts consulted by TruthNigeria, the average ransom paid after negotiations in Kaduna is approximately $4,000 per person. The aggregate revenue kidnappers stand to gain if all the abducted persons get ransomed out would be the equivalent of $732,000.
Forest Camps and Mobility of Armed Groups
A security analyst familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, said Nigerian federal and state authorities are aware of the forest camps used by Fulani terrorists across southern Kaduna.
“Paying ransom only strengthens these groups,” the analyst said. “It allows them to buy more weapons and recruit more fighters.”
The analyst warned that continued inaction risks further depopulating Adara Christian communities already hollowed out by years of violence.
A Region Under Strain
As attacks persist, displaced families continue to flee to urban centers, while those remaining face food shortages, school closures, and growing insecurity.
For Adara Christian villagers in Kikwere, Mararaban Kajuru, and surrounding settlements, the promise of rescue and protection remains uncertain.
“We are still here,” one village leader said quietly. “But we do not know for how long.”
Mike Odeh James reports on conflict for TruthNigeria.
