By Mike Odeh James
(Kaduna) Fulani Ethnic Militia (FEM) fighters stormed seven communities in the north-central state of Kaduna in eight days, seizing twenty-six native Christians, killing two, and wounding two, villagers tell TruthNigeria.
Between April 10 and April 17, armed Fulani Terrorists moved across Kajuru County at will, overrunning Christian villages while security forces stayed away, villagers told TruthNigeria.
“The militia is moving ward to ward like they own the land. Our people are sleeping in the bush, and nobody is coming to help them,” Alipiri Ado, head of Internally Displaced Persons in Kajuru County, told TruthNigeria in an exclusive interview.
Kaduna State government, the police, and Operation Safe Haven did not respond to TruthNigeria inquiries.
Seven Minors and Elders Seized in Doka
The most recent assault struck on April 17, 2026, at 10:30 a.m., when Fulani Terrorists swept into Doka on motorbikes and kidnapped seven villagers, five of them children.
“The terrorists came in their numbers on motorbikes, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great!”). It is very sad to see that many children were kidnapped,” Gabriel Nalado, a 45-year-old farmer from Doka, told TruthNigeria.
“They came in broad daylight and took seven of our people. Five are children. The youngest is thirteen,” Ado said.
Three days earlier, on April 14, Fulani Terrorists struck in Apanako Rimau, shooting one Indigenous Christian dead. Hours later, the same fighters hit Ungwan Dutse in Ngwaku Kufana ward and severely beat a resident.
“They beat one man almost to death. We still don’t know if he is alive. The gunfire scattered everyone,” Bitrus David, a 28-year-old trader and vigilante member, told TruthNigeria.
At 12:30 a.m. on April 13, Fulani Terrorists descended on Afogo Gari in Afogo ward and kidnapped Mr. Henry Isuwa and his wife, Mrs. Isuwa.
“They took Mr. Henry Isuwa and his wife from their home at midnight. The neighbors heard everything but could do nothing. There was no soldier, no police,” David said.
Ten Abducted in Kampani Maro
On April 10, the same attackers hit Kampani Maro ward, kidnapping ten villagers, wounding one, and killing another.
“They killed one, injured one, and took away ten. Families are running house to house counting who is missing,” Ado said.
Ngwaku Kufana Struck Before Dawn
The cycle had opened earlier that day, on April 10 at 1:00 a.m., when Fulani Terrorists raided Ngwaku Kufana ward and seized seven residents.
“They carried away seven of our people. The families are still in shock. No one has told us where they are being held,” Ado said.
A County Abandoned
The April violence brings confirmed Kajuru abductions to more than 60 in two months. No arrests have been announced. No troops have been deployed to the affected wards.
TruthNigeria previously has documented the Rijana Forest corridor 20 miles to the west of the kidnapping area as a holding ground for such victims.
Geography and Faith of Kajuru County
Kajuru County is in southern Kaduna State and spans roughly 2,229 square kilometers. Its headquarters is Kajuru town, known as “Ajure” in the Adara language. The county borders Igabi, Chikun, Kauru, Zangon Kataf, and Kachia (Local Government Areas, also called “Counties”). The Adara (Kadara) are the predominant native group, alongside the Gbagyi (Gwari).
Christianity is the predominant religion among the indigenous population, with about 95 percent of the Adara identifying as Christian. The major denominations are the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), which has been repeatedly targeted in jihadist attacks; along with the Catholic Church; and the Methodist Church.
A Middle Belt Under Siege
Security analysts say Kajuru is not an isolated theater but one front in a coordinated Fulani terrorist campaign stretching across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“What is happening in Kajuru is the same playbook we are seeing in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, and Nasarawa. The Fulani militia are clearing Christian villages in a deliberate sequence — kidnap, kill, occupy, rename. This is not farmer-herder conflict. This is territorial conquest,” Adakole Adam, principal consultant at Adamson Security Consultancy in Takum, told TruthNigeria.
Adam said the uniform pattern across five states points to coordination, not coincidence. Weapons, logistics, and forest corridors move the same way from Zamfara through Kaduna into Plateau and Benue states.
Friday Agbo, Managing Director of Alterkonsult in Kaduna, said the failure of American policy has emboldened the attackers.
“The American government should have redesignated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern the day the Easter massacres began. Washington has the intelligence. Washington has the satellite imagery. What Washington lacks is the political will,” Agbo said.
Agbo added that every month the State Department delays a genocide determination is another month FEM commanders plan the next assault with confidence that no sanction will reach them.
Both analysts warn that without sanctions on Nigerian officials enabling the violence, visa restrictions on security commanders who stand down, and a formal genocide determination from the State Department, the Middle Belt will continue to bleed.
“We have buried too many. We have paid too many ransoms. If the government will not come, let the world know what is happening to us,” Ado said.
Mike Odeh James is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria
