Nigeria: Terrorists Release 70 Kaduna Baptist Church Members, Nine Others after 35 Days in Captivity

Terrorists have released 70 abducted persons, including 61 members of the Baptist Church, Kakau Daji, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The victims were said to have been released after an undisclosed ransom was paid to the terrorists.

This is coming as no fewer than 10 passengers travelling in a commercial car were kidnapped by bandits in Niger State.
The criminals had on October 31, 2021, invaded the Baptist Church during a Sunday service and abducted 66 worshippers.

They later took five of the abducted church members close to the community and killed three, while two others were shot.
Chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Joseph Hayab, who confirmed the release of the remaining 61 church members, said they were freed on Friday night alongside nine others after an undisclosed amount was paid as ransom.
The CAN chairman commended traditional rulers and stakeholders for ensuring the release of the victims.

The bandits had earlier demanded N99 million for the release of the 61 Baptist Church members.
Hayab urged Christians and other Nigerians to be prayerful against the insecurity that has brought untold hardships to the citizenry.
The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammad Jalige, could not be reached when contacted on his mobile phone.
Kaduna has been under siege by terrorists despite tough security measures adopted by the state government.
On September 30, 2021, the government, among other measures, shut down telecom networks in some parts of the state to tackle terrorists unleashing mayhem on residents at home and the highways.

Telecom services were restored on November 26 after a deadly attack along the Kaduna-Abuja Road, where Alhaji Hamida Sagir, a retired Director of Protocol at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) was killed while several other people were reportedly abducted.
In the early hours of last Friday, the terrorists also invaded Anguwan Juji, a suburb in the Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna metropolis, killing two people while 50 others were reportedly abducted.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 10 passengers travelling in a commercial car have been kidnapped by bandits in Niger State.
The travellers were said to have boarded the commercial vehicle at Kontagora and were heading to Minna, the state capital when they ran into a blockade by the armed bandits between Garin -gabas and Zungeru towns.

An eyewitness told THISDAY that the travellers were taken into the bush after valuable items belonging to them were forcibly taken away by the gunmen.
The vehicle in which they were travelling was also abandoned by the roadside.
The bandits said to be about 100, were carrying sophisticated weapons on motorcycles.
According to an eyewitness, the bandits blocked the Minna- Kontagora road for several hours making travellers make a detour or run into the bush for safety.
Some journalists coming from the wedding of the daughter of one of their colleagues, which took place in Kontagora town, were among those trapped in the blockade by the bandits, but none of them was kidnapped.
The gunmen operated for more than four hours without any response from the security operatives around the area.

All efforts to get a reaction from the Niger State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun was abortive as he did not respond to calls made to his cell phone.

John Shiklam in Kaduna and Laleye Dipo in Minna

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