Ishaku Dan’azumi, the village head of Kurmin Wali in the Kajuru LGA of Kaduna state, says 80 abducted worshippers have escaped, while 86 others remain in captivity.
In January, gunmen attacked three churches in the community,
whisking away about 177 worshippers.
Eleven people were said to have escaped while being taken
away by bandits.
Speaking with TheCable, Dan’azumi said the 80 victims who
escaped did so on the same day of the incident, but were unable to return
immediately as they lost their way in the forest.
He said the escapees fled into the forest and hid out of
fear following the attack.
“We have now confirmed that 80 of our people have been found
in different locations. They ran through the forest and hid because of fear on
the very day of the incident,” he said.
Dan’azumi added that a few days ago, one of the victims
contacted the community and disclosed their location, prompting the
mobilisation of a team to trace them.
“One of them called and told us where they were. We sent
people there and confirmed their whereabouts,” he said.
“They were afraid because they thought what happened to a
nearby village, where bandits burnt down the entire community, had happened to
us. That was why they did not reach out immediately.”
He said a headcount conducted on Friday confirmed that 80
victims were found in different forest settlements. He said search teams have
also been deployed to other forest locations to ascertain whether more victims
are still in hiding.
The village head disclosed that the authorities had been
officially informed of the development.
“We have informed the government that 80 people have been
found. They want us to gather them together, but fear is stopping many of them
from returning,” he said.
“However, we have spoken with them and confirmed their
locations.”
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