Kaduna, 06 April, 2023 / 9:05 pm (ACI Africa).
Armed bandits killed one person and kidnapped more than 100 others in a March 14 raid on a predominantly Catholic town in north-central Nigeria, according to a Catholic priest and other local sources.
Father Dauda Musa Bahago, a coordinator for the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission, a Catholic aid organization, told CNA the attack took place in his hometown of Adunu, in Niger state, during a memorial Mass in a nearby town for Father Isaac Achia, a Catholic priest who was burned to death Jan. 15. The bandits began attacking Adunu at 9 a.m., then moved to attack the town hosting the memorial service but turned back when they encountered Nigerian army soldiers guarding the town, Bahago said.
Three weeks after the attack, 62 people are still being held for ransom by Muslim Fulani bandits, Bahago said. One man, Moses Tanko Arada, was killed March 29 when no ransom was paid, and the kidnappers released three women as part of the negotiation process, he said.
The others managed to escape, he said.
“They were demanding a ransom of an amount in Naira equivalent to more than $450,000 but were bargaining for a lesser amount in the last few days,” Bahago said.