Meanwhile, Federal Government Neglected to Rescue Hundreds Still in Hostage Camps
By Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh
(Kaduna) – 183 Kidnapped Christians regained their freedom on Thursday as media heaped praises galore on the governor but raised nary a question about whether ransom was paid.
In a ceremony marked with fanfare at Government House, Kaduna, Governor Uba Sani warmly welcomed returnees but rebuked those who he said wanted to “play politics over the crime.” The governor refused to state whether the victims were rescued or whether ransom was paid, and if so, by how much?”
The horror started on Sunday morning, January 18, 2026, in the tiny Christian village of Kurmin Wali, Kajuru Local Governance Area (County) as 50 armed terrorists from the Fulani ethnic group surrounded the village and abducted en mass the congregations of three churches. Although 11 abductees escaped in the confusion, 66 were force-marched to a hostage holding camp where they endured brutal treatment for 17 days.
“Today, I can say without contradiction that all those abducted from Kurmin Wali have returned,” Gov. Sani said in the hall with the freed hostages seated and dressed in uniform orange T-shirts bought for them by the government.
“Initially, 183 people were abducted. Eleven were released earlier and taken straight to hospital,” he went on, flanked by top government officials and military men.
“They have been certified medically fit and have returned home.
“Out of the remaining, 83 returned a few days ago, while 89 were rescued just yesterday,” he said.
“Altogether, the figure is 183, and we would not be sitting here if even one person was still missing,” he claimed, blithely ignoring the fact that up to 1400 Kaduna citizens are currently being beaten, raped and starved in three or more hostage camps, as documented by TruthNigeria on Jan. 28.
“Kaduna State does not take the issue of security lightly. For us, even one person abducted is unacceptable,” he added.
“That is why we refused to politicize the situation or engage in media arguments over numbers. Our focus was clear — to ensure that every single person returned safely,” he added.
“For now, we are not sending the victims home immediately. They will undergo thorough medical examination and comprehensive psychosocial care here in Kaduna. Our medical team and specialists will ensure they are physically and mentally fit before returning home. We will also support their livelihood, as many of them have lost income during this period.,” he said.
The governor did not allow for questions from Journalists who were also denied access to the freed hostages.
The numbers cited by the governor don’t add up to the totals of victims reported by TruthNigeria and other media, but the presser allowed for no questions.
Governor Sani’s claim that 183 people were taken — not the 177 initially reported — illustrated the confusion that typically surrounds mass abductions in Nigeria’s remote communities. According to the governor, 11 victims escaped during the attack itself, whereas 83 managed to return on their own in subsequent days. The remaining 89, he said, were “successfully rescued through a joint security operation.”
Thousands of Kidnap Victims Languish in Multiple Camps
Yakubu J. Maigamo, National President of the Akurumi Development Association, rebutted the governor’s claims in a statement Wednesday deploring the fact than more than 100 of his kinsmen in the Akurumi ethnicity have been kidnapped for months and are believed to be in the Rijana hostage camp system.
“Let it be on record that as at 2025 – 2026 a total of 12 persons has been killed, while at least 100 persons comprising elderly men and women, pregnant women, youth and young children have been abducted and are still in captivity in the hands of Fulani bandits,” Maigamo said.
“The lives of our people matter as we cannot remain spectators to our own destruction and watch helplessly as persistent attacks claim the lives of our sons and daughters, as kidnappings inflicted agonizing trauma, and as our ancestral lands are turned into killing fields. We therefore demand immediate and decisive government intervention,” he stated.
The President of Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC), a U.S.-based advocacy organization, has texted to TruthNigeria that the government’s approach to law enforcement is inherently contradictory.
“What we are witnessing is the two-faced nature of corrupt Nigerian officials. One hand feeds, nourishes and shelters the perpetrators for profit while the other hand swears an oath to protect and defend civilians,” wrote Dede Laugesen of STPC.
Political Calculations
Governor Sani’s warning against “politicizing” Kaduna’s security situation seems ironic, given the grand staging of the hostage reception on Thursday. It was visually parallel to the rescued hostage event held in the office of National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu of Feb. 5, 2025, when 59 rescued hostages from Rijana were photographed wearing identical maroon dresses and suits. By contrast, the face-to-face video interviews with Rijana camp survivors in 14 investigations by TruthNigeria have gone unremarked by Nigerian Federal Police Spokesmen and by most Nigerian media. Calls for comment from Police Spokesmen from TruthNigeria have gone unreturned.
A special advisor in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, dodged a question about the number of hostages in the Rijana camps at an on-the-record meeting at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 2. The advisor was Ms. Idayat Hassan, a key organizer of the US-Nigeria Security Working Group.
“Can you confirm or deny that 800 hostages are today held in the network of camps near Rijana forest 5 kilometers from the border with Niger State?” asked TruthNigeria Managing Editor Douglas Burton. “No, I cannot confirm that, as I don’t know the persons who wrote that in TruthNigeria,” Hassan replied. However, Hassan is aware of the Rijana haven for Fulani terrorists, as she had earlier acknowledged that she was present at the special rescued hostage ceremony on Feb. 5, 2025, in Ribadu’s office in Abuja.
As Nigeria approaches future election cycles, security performance will undoubtedly factor into political calculations. The question is whether this will drive genuine improvements in protecting civilians or simply more theatrical responses to crises that generate headlines.
For the families still waiting in Kauru County and other communities across Nigeria’s northwest, the return of the Kurmin Wali worshippers is bittersweet — a reminder that freedom is possible, but apparently not equally available to all.
Luka Binniyat and Mike Odeh write for TruthNigeria Nigeria on politics and conflict from Kaduna.
