After 110 Days In Capt!vity, Eight Southern Kaduna Kidnap Victims, Including Two Newborns, D!e

After 110 Days In Captivity, Eight Southern Kaduna Kidnap Victims, Including Two Newborns, Die

The Ariko victims have now spent 110 days in captivity, while the 11 residents abducted from Awon village have been held for 95 days.

At least eight people linked to two groups of hostages abducted from Ariko and Awon villages in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State have reportedly died in captivity, as troubling accounts continue to emerge from the kidnappers’ camp where the victims are being held.

According to journalist and former Kaduna State Government spokesperson Reuben Buhari, seven of the deceased were among residents abducted from Ariko village, while the eighth was a newborn delivered by a woman kidnapped from neighbouring Awon village.

Ariko and Awon are neighbouring communities in Kachia Local Government Area, inhabited predominantly by members of the Kuturmi ethnic group.

The Ariko victims have now spent 110 days in captivity, while the 11 residents abducted from Awon village have been held for 95 days.

Buhari said the information was provided by a victim who recently regained freedom from the kidnappers’ camp.

According to the account, the seven Ariko victims who died in captivity comprised two men, two women and three children. One of the children was a baby born while the mother was being held by the kidnappers.

Six days after the abduction in Ariko, the kidnappers reportedly released a photograph showing 37 of the captives. Buhari said one of the men identified in a marked version of the image is among those now reported to have died in captivity.

More disturbing, however, are accounts of how the dead are allegedly treated in the camp.

According to a former captive who regained freedom, victims who die are not buried. Instead, their bodies are reportedly dragged to a nearby slope and abandoned.

The account means some families may never have the opportunity to recover and bury their loved ones.

Ariko: Seven Reported Dead

According to Buhari, seven of the Ariko hostages who were abducted have died in captivity. They include two men, two women and three children.

One of the children was a baby born while the mother was being held by the kidnappers.

The woman reportedly went into labour inside the camp, where there was no medical assistance and not even a sharp object available to cut the baby’s umbilical cord after delivery.

Faced with the situation, another woman in captivity reportedly used her teeth to cut the umbilical cord.

The baby survived the birth and lived for nearly three weeks before dying in captivity.

For the child’s mother, what should have been a moment of joy became another tragedy in the prolonged ordeal of captivity.

Awon: Newborn Dies After One Day

The tragedy has also affected neighbouring Awon village.

Eleven residents of the community were abducted on April 20 and, according to Buhari, were later taken to the same camp where the Ariko victims are being held.

One of the kidnapped women was pregnant at the time of her abduction.

After several weeks in captivity, she gave birth in the camp about two weeks ago.

The baby survived for only one day.

The infant’s death brings the reported death toll linked to the Ariko and Awon hostages to at least eight, seven among the Ariko captives and one newborn delivered by an Awon hostage.

SaharaReporters has not independently verified the reported deaths or the conditions described inside the kidnappers’ camp.

Children Reportedly Falling Ill

Those still alive are said to be enduring extremely harsh conditions.

According to the former captive’s account, the hostages have no shelter and sleep in the open, exposed to rain, sun and cold.

Whenever it rains, they are soaked and forced to spend the night on wet ground.

Most of the children still being held are reportedly ill, raising fresh concerns among their families about how much longer they can survive the conditions.

The Ariko victims have now spent 110 days in captivity, while the 11 residents abducted from Awon have been held for 95 days.

Although they were kidnapped from different communities, the victims are reportedly being held in the same camp, while their families continue to endure the agony of waiting for their return.

Ariko and Awon are neighbouring communities in Kachia Local Government Area, inhabited predominantly by members of the Kuturmi ethnic group, making the tragedy one shared across both communities.

Some families are waiting for parents, others for husbands, wives or children.

For those whose loved ones are among the reported dead, hopes of reunion have given way to grief, compounded by reports that their bodies remain unburied in the kidnappers’ camp.

Calling attention to their plight, Buhari concluded his statement with an appeal:

“Please pray for their freedom.”

For the families in Ariko and Awon, that prayer now carries a double burden: hope for the safe return of those still alive and an end to an ordeal that has already claimed several lives.