‘Nigerian Security Officials in Brazen Criminal Conspiracy’ – Former State Department Official
By Douglas Burton
(Kaduna) – Kidnapper kingpins in Nigeria were seen taking ransom in motorbikes, rifles, cash and foodstuffs on Jan. 30, 2026, just hours before the transfer of 100 Christian hostages, TruthNigeria has learned. The hostages had been grabbed on Sunday, January 18 during worship services at three churches in the village of Kurmin Wali, Kajuru County (Local Government Area) and marched into holding camps in the forest.
According to multiple eyewitnesses, on January 30 a convoy of five 50-perseon passenger buses rolled into the village of Cibiyar (“KI-biyah”) and parked in a grove of trees. The village’s remote region in Kaduna State has endured relentless attacks by radicalized Fulani-tribe terrorist groups for more than four years.
Initially, residents believed military reinforcements had finally arrived to protect their vulnerable community.
They were tragically mistaken. What unfolded next shocked local witnesses.
“One by one, the terror kingpins started arriving,” said local sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. “Fulani militia commanders from Rijana, Gabachuwa, Doka, Jan Dutse, and Enugwu gathered as armed men began systematically unloading cargo from the buses,” witnesses said of the Fulani tribe criminals. The towns of origin of the gang leaders corresponded to terrorist hubs holding hundreds of hostages for ransom as per TruthNigeria reportage.
A sack full of cash, dozens of AK-49 assault rifles, three large sacks of ammunition, and 24 motorcycles—the preferred vehicle for hit-and-run attacks across Nigeria’s rural farmlands, were set out on display, according to the witnesses, who included former government employees. But the shipment also included 45 fifty-kilogram bags of rice, cooking oil, and seasoning. The cash equivalent in US dollars of the items transferred would amount to between $60,000 and $80,000, according to TruthNigeria estimates.
“They sat down, took inventory, divided everything among themselves, and left,” said an eyewitness. “Everyone saw what happened,” said one man.
Three hours later, according to sources from Cibiyar, the same terrorists who had departed with their weapons and supplies began returning—this time with haggard and starved looking men, women and children.
“We counted over 100 of them,” one witness said, describing exhausted, unkempt, and hollow-eyed kidnapping victims conveyed on motorcycles. “Many looked like they hadn’t eaten in days. They loaded them into the coaster buses and departed.”
The victims later recounted to relatives of mixing raw corn flour with water just to survive and fed only four times during a 12-day ordeal sitting chained together under forest canopy.
The Kurmin Wali Connection
The timing of the weapons distribution and the subsequent appearance of kidnap victims has raised disturbing questions about a potential exchange linked to the Kurmin Wali mass abduction of 177 Christians on Jan. 18, which paralyzed the 1,000-person village and triggered international outcry.
Days after the Cibiyar incident, Kaduna Governor Uba Sani announced the successful rescue of all 183 Kurmin Wali victims. The releases came in phases: eleven escaped early, 83 were freed days later, and the final 89 were rescued on February 5.
However, Governor Sani refused to disclose whether ransom was paid or if force was used to secure the releases. When pressed by journalists, state officials emphasized only “sustained joint operations” by security agencies and the governor’s “relentless efforts.”
“There is no ambiguity here. There is impunity,” wrote former Assistant Secretary of State Robert Destro to TruthNigeria in response. “The State and federal governments are funding the terrorists. Deliveries of food and weapons, as described here, means that security forces not only know who the leaders are, but are in constant communications with them. This is a brazen criminal conspiracy,” Destro wrote to TruthNigeria.
The former Commissioner of Local Government, Internal Security, and Chieftain Affairs in Niger State told TruthNigeria that both Federal and State governments routinely provide food and cash to kidnappers when negotiating hostage turnovers, although governments at both levels prohibit the payment of ransoms. “To pay cash to the criminals, the officials take money from the Central Bank of Nigeria so there is no record of the transfer,” Umar told TruthNigeria.
Systematic Failure or Complicity?
The brazen January 30 handover raises profound questions about how well-equipped militias operate with apparent freedom in regions where Nigerian security forces maintain a presence. Residents of Kajuru have told TruthNigeria reporters their area is only lightly guarded despite four years of sustained attacks.
The delivery of military-grade weapons, vehicles, provisions, and cash points to coordinated networks operating across state lines with a level of organization and logistical sophistication that extends far beyond spontaneous clashes.
Nigerian federal authorities have not responded to questions about the alleged weapons distribution or whether investigations into the incident are underway. Residents say they reported what they witnessed but have received no indication that action has been taken.
“Where but in Nigeria do kidnappers take cash payments and weapons as ransom in broad daylight?” asked TruthNigeria Founder Judd Saul, when reading the report of the confidential sources. “Such criminality is an outrage even in the crime-ridden world of Nigeria,” he said.
Douglas Burton is the managing editor of TruthNigeria.
