Eighty worshippers abducted during a bandit attack on Kurmin Wali community in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have been found, while 86 others remain unaccounted for, the village head has confirmed.
The Village Head of Kurmin Wali in the Kufana Chiefdom, Mr. Ishaku Dan’azumi, said the victims were discovered nearly two weeks after bandits stormed the community and abducted worshippers from at least three churches.
Recall that the attack sparked public outrage, with many Nigerians calling on the Federal Government to intervene and rescue those taken.
Explaining the delay in locating the escapees, Dan’azumi said the 80 victims fled through nearby forests on the day of the attack and hid in remote settlements out of fear, which made communication difficult.
“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.
According to him, contact was only re-established after one of the escapees reached out to the community a few days ago and disclosed their location, prompting a verification exercise.
“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 explained.
The village head said a headcount carried out on Friday confirmed that 80 people had been found in various bush settlements. He added that search teams were also deployed to forest locations to determine whether more victims were still in hiding.
Dan’azumi noted that the state government had been formally informed of the development, but fear continued to prevent some of the escapees from returning home.
“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.
Recall that on January 18 that bandits invaded Kurmin Wali in a coordinated attack on churches, abducting 177 women, children and men.
The incident triggered nationwide concern, although the Kaduna State government and the police initially denied that any abduction had occurred. The authorities later reversed the denial, confirmed the attack and assured the public that rescue efforts were underway.
(DAILY TRUST)
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