Eighty out of the persons abducted about two weeks ago from Kurmin Wali in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have escaped from captivity.
Village Head of Kurmin Wali in the Kufana Chiefdom, Mr. Ishaku Dan’azumi, who disclosed this, said the 80 escapees had been located, while the whereabouts of the 86 others remain unknown.
Two weeks ago, bandits had raided the community, abducting worshippers from no fewer than three churches.
The attack had generated outrage, with many calling on the Federal Government for their rescue.
Dan’azumi, while speaking on the development, said the 80 victims escaped through the forest and hid in remote locations, which delayed their return and communication with authorities.
“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.
One of the escapees, he said eventually contacted the community and disclosed their location a few days ago, prompting a verification exercise by local representatives.
“One of them called and told us where they were. We sent people there and confirmed their whereabouts. 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.
The village head said a headcount conducted on Friday confirmed the figure of 80 that were found in different settlement locations in the bush, adding that search teams were also sent to forest settlements to ascertain whether more victims were still hiding.
He added that the government had been formally informed of the development, noting that fear was still preventing some of the people found from returning home even though some have returned.
“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. However, we have spoken with them and confirmed their locations,” he said.
On January 18, bandits had invaded Kurmin Wali, abducting 177 women, children and men in a coordinated attack on churches.
The incident sparked nationwide concern, though the state government and the police initially denied that any abduction took place. The authorities later retracted the denial, confirming the attack and assuring the public that efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims.
