Thought Leaders Protest Suppression of News about Kidnapping of Christians
By Luka Binniyat
ABUJA (Nigeria) – The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has raised a fresh alarm over the continued captivity of 15 married Christian women abducted by Boko Haram terrorists. The 15 Christian women are allegedly held in Southern Borno, in the Islamic Terrorists stronghold of Northeast Nigeria since December, 2025.
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) is the mouthpiece of all the over 300 ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt of Nigeria found across 14 states of Northern Nigeria and covers and area of 115,000 square miles in the centre of Nigeria.
The MBF also described as “unsettling and heartless” the silence by authorities over the abduction of 166 Christian worshippers from Southern Kaduna two weeks ago.
Southern Kaduna and Southern Borno are parts of the Nigerian Middle Belt or “Bible Belt” of Northern Nigeria now ravaged by Islamic terror groups.
15 Married Christian Women Abducted
In a press statement issued on Monday, February 2, 2026, and signed by its President, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, the Forum said the fate of the women taken from Kilakasa village in Dille District of Uba Emirate, Askira/Uba Local Government Area, has been ignored despite the gravity of the crime and the vulnerability of the victims.
According to the MBF, the women were abducted on December 18, 2025, while fishing by a nearby river.
“They are all Christians from the Marghi ethnic group, aged between 30 and 40, and are mothers with dependent children,” the statement reads.
At least one of the women, the Forum noted, has six young children who have been left without maternal care since the abduction.
“Despite immediate reports to the police and partial ransom efforts by families, communication with the abductors has mysteriously ceased, and no rescue operation has been mounted to the best of our understanding,” the statement said, describing the silence surrounding the incident as “curious and deeply troubling.”
The MBF contrasted this with the swift rescue of 12 girls abducted from a communal farm in Mussa District, Askira Emirate, who were freed just four days after their capture by troops of Operation Hadin Kai.
While commending the military for that operation, the Forum urged the same urgency, focus and commitment in securing the release of the 15 women still in captivity.
Lampoons Govt Silence on 166 Christians from Churches
Beyond Southern Borno, the MBF expressed deep concern over the lack of official updates on the abduction of 166 Adara worshippers from three churches in Kurmin Wali village, Kajuru Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna.
The worshipers were kidnapped during church services 15 days prior to the statement, an incident the Forum said was initially denied by state authorities.
“The continued silence of the Kaduna State Government and the Kaduna State Police Command is not only unsettling, it is profoundly insensitive to victims’ families and a public that desperately need to know their conditions” the MBF said, warning that prolonged information blackouts deepens trauma and fuels more sense of insecurity the area.
Condemns Agwara Violence
The Forum also condemned a recent coordinated attack on Agwara town in Niger State, another part of the Middle Belt grappling with violent insecurity.
“Armed bandits reportedly stormed the town in the early hours of Sunday 1st February, 2026, overpowered local security forces, razed the divisional police station, attacked a church and abducted at least five residents,” the MBF posited.
The attack has left the community in panic, with families fearful for the safety of those still missing, said the MBF.
Persistent Patterns of Attacks
According to the MBF, such incidents reflect a disturbing and persistent pattern of attacks across the Middle Belt, targeting worship centres, schools, police installations and civilian communities.
The Forum cited daily cases of kidnapping and violence in Southern Kaduna, particularly in Kauru, Kachia, Lere, Chikun and Kagarko local government areas, where perpetrators often operate with what it described as “apparent impunity.”
Rewarding Bandits Over Victims
The statement criticised what it called structural gaps in security architecture, noting that despite Kaduna State’s size and resources, it lacks a properly trained, equipped and funded civilian security support force, unlike some neighbouring states that have developed community defence collaborations with formal security agencies.
It further questioned the effectiveness of the much-publicised “Kaduna Peace Model,” arguing that it has coincided with unprecedented waves of kidnappings and mass displacement of mainly Christians.
“While the government of Kaduna state seems content with dishing out welfare to the so-called repentant bandits, who never surrender a gun, their victims keep living under subhuman conditions in Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) across the state and surrounding areas,” Dr Pogu said on behalf of the MBF.
Estimated Kidnapping Between in the Last One Year.
Drawing from incident reports, community records and media monitoring across the Middle Belt—comprising parts of Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi, Kwara, the Federal Capital Territory, Southern Kaduna and Middle Belt areas of Borno, Adamawa and Taraba—the MBF estimates that between January 2025 and January 2026, over 1,200 persons were abducted in the region.
A provisional breakdown compiled by the Forum indicates:
Southern Kaduna (Kaduna State): approximately 450–500 abducted persons, including mass church and village raids.
Benue and Plateau States: about 300–350 cases, largely from farming communities.
Niger State: roughly 150–180 abductees linked to coordinated bandit attacks on towns and highways.
Nasarawa and Kogi States: an estimated 120–150 cases, mostly highway and rural kidnappings.
Middle Belt areas of Borno, Adamawa and Taraba: about 80–100 cases, including Boko Haram-related abductions such as the Kilakasa incident.
‘These figures are conservative, because there is underreporting, delayed confirmations and the silence of some authorities,” the MBF noted.
Demands
Concluding its statement, the Forum demanded immediate and transparent updates on all abducted persons, swift and coordinated rescue efforts with measurable outcomes, and protection strategies that uphold citizens’ constitutional rights to life and security.
“The lives of these women and all other abducted persons matter,” the MBF said, calling on government at all levels to act decisively and without delay.
Luka Binniyat writes for TruthNigeria on Politics and Conflict from Kaduna.
