More than 70 days after 37 Christian worshippers were abducted during Easter Sunday church services in Ariko, Kachia LGA, Kaduna State, the Kuturmi Unity Development Association has accused the federal and state governments of criminal neglect, saying the victims and their families have been abandoned while public officials offer nothing but empty assurances.
Thirty-seven Christian worshippers abducted during Easter Sunday services in Ariko community, Kaduna State, are still in terrorists’ hands — and their community has had enough of waiting. Over 74 days since the attack, the Kuturmi Unity Development Association, KUDA, is calling out the government’s silence in the starkest of terms.
As reported by The Punch, armed bandits stormed three churches in Ariko community during Easter Sunday services, killing five worshippers before whisking away 37 others into captivity. Eleven more residents from neighbouring Awon Community were separately abducted on April 22 and remain missing.
KUDA pulled no punches in its statement, saying: “Families whose loved ones were taken have been left to suffer in silence, with little evidence of a coordinated and determined effort by government authorities to secure their release.” The association described government officials as offering “promises and assurances” while “victims remain in captivity” and “families in agony.”
The crisis is compounded by a disputed military claim. While initial military statements said 31 hostages were rescued, community leaders disputed this and maintained that the 37 abductees remained in captivity. Terrorists subsequently released a video showing the victims still in their hands, demanding N1 billion and 35 motorcycles for their release.
KUDA further alleged that persistent attacks and insecurity had displaced more than 100 communities across Kuturmi land, forcing thousands from their ancestral homes into unofficial IDP settlements without food, healthcare or educational support. Children are dropping out of school. Pregnant women lack medical care. The elderly are dying. And the government, says KUDA, remains “largely invisible.”
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