Over 17 residents remain in captivity in Kaduna's Kauru local government, despite paid ransoms exceeding N300 million, highlighting the deepening crisis in Nigeria’s rural communities amid ongoing violence.
More than 17 kidnapped residents from Kauru local government area of Kaduna state are still being held even after families and neighbours reportedly paid more than N300 million in ransom, underscoring the scale of insecurity unsettling rural communities in the region.
Reverend Musa Hassan Shadari, a community leader in Kauru, told journalists in Kaduna that the area has been devastated by repeated raids, with more than 50 people allegedly killed and over 1,000 abducted in about three months. He said the money used to secure the release of some victims came from relatives, grain stores and the sale of farmland, illustrating how ransom demands are draining household assets and deepening hardship.
Shadari said at least 39 villages along the Kauru-West axis had been affected, cutting across Muslim and Christian households as well as Hausa and Fulani communities. He added that residents had taken to the Kaduna metropolis to protest and press Governor Uba Sani’s administration for a stronger security response, claiming that existing deployments had not provided lasting protection.
The latest appeal comes amid a wider pattern of kidnapping in Kaduna state. In Kagarko, families of abducted villagers have recently pleaded for intervention after struggling to meet ransom demands, while in another case in Lere local government area, captives were reportedly released only after months in detention and payment of a large ransom. Kaduna police have also said they have made arrests and rescued victims in recent weeks, but the pressure on rural communities remains severe.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
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