Despite selling everything to pay ransom, bandits kill six kidnapped Southern Kaduna residents

At least six residents abducted from Kutaho Village in Kaduna State’s Kagarko Local Government Area have been killed in bandit captivity despite their community raising and paying a substantial ransom, in a devastating outcome that has reignited fury over the government’s failed rehabilitation policy for bandits.

They sold their belongings, pooled their resources and paid the ransom. The bandits killed their loved ones anyway.

At least six residents abducted from Kutaho Village in Kagarko Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna have been confirmed killed in captivity following a bandit raid on February 9, 2026, according to sources who spoke to SaharaReporters. The deaths occurred despite the community’s desperate efforts to secure their release through ransom payment — making the outcome not just tragic, but a calculated betrayal.

The victims have been identified as Friday Agama, said to have been the first captive executed; Kunama Dogo; Monday Tanko; Lami Williams; a man known only as Pawpaw’s brother; and another captive identified as Catchiest, who sources say died after being subjected to severe punishment by the kidnappers.

The community’s anguish is compounded by the knowledge of what they sacrificed to try to bring these people home alive.

Two survivors — Williams Ishaya and Iliya Dauda — have been freed and are currently receiving medical treatment in Kachia for injuries and trauma sustained during captivity. Two others, Shedrack and Daniel Ganga, were reportedly released and were making their way home at the time of filing.

But for six families in Kutaho, no one is coming home.

The killings have reignited bitter questions about the Federal Government’s so-called bandit rehabilitation programme. Residents of Southern Kaduna and Birnin Gwari have long raised concerns about “repentant bandits” who cycle through government rehabilitation schemes before returning to terrorise the same communities they were supposedly reconciled with.

As of the time of this report, the Kaduna State Police Command had yet to officially confirm the deaths or provide any statement on the released survivors — a silence that community leaders find unconscionable.

Those leaders are now calling on the Federal Government and security agencies to take urgent, concrete action — not press statements, not rehabilitation ceremonies, but real protection for rural communities that continue to pay the heaviest price for Nigeria’s security failures.

They paid the ransom. They deserve answers.