Travelers abducted In Kaduna by Fulani militants

Kaduna, Nigeria, January 15, 2020– More than 200 Muslim Fulani herdsmen have attacked predominantly Christian villages in southern Kaduna state, Nigeria since Jan. 6, killing at least 35 people and kidnapping 58 others, including a mother and her 6-month-old baby, sources said.

they now call them, began their attacks on our communities on Monday, Jan. 6, killing, maiming and kidnapping members of our families without restraint by security agencies or the military,” Rev Haruna Tutu, a Christian leader in the affected areas who's son Caleb Tutu who son was kidnapped  told the Christian voices . “The herdsmen have destroyed our farmlands and left us with nothing.

The family are pleading with the abductors of called tutu to release their son, as this time there has not been response from the militants.

In Chikun County, the villages of Kuduru, Tawali, Unguwan Madaki and Katarma were attacked for five days by more than 200 herdsmen riding motorcycles and armed with AK-47s, Binniyat said.

From available information, the armed men went from house to house killing and maiming these hapless victims with no help coming from anywhere,” Binniyat said. “The spate of killings, kidnapping, arson, looting, raping and amounts paid in ransoms to these terrorists by our communities is traumatizing and impoverishing our people on a daily basis, making them susceptible to hunger and disease.”
The Kaduna state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) estimates that Christians have paid about 400 million naira (nearly US$1.1 million) to kidnappers as of Jan. 11, Binniyat said.
“We are shocked with the way that the federal government and the government of Kaduna state seem to be overwhelmed by these cruel crimes. These defenseless victims and the affected communities are left to their own fate, in the hands of these blood thirsty militiamen,” he said. “It is sad that the same communities who are victims of these mass murders, kidnappings, arsons, lootings, rapings and other mindless evils are forced to pay their assailants huge sums to gain their freedom or that of their loved ones.”

Christians in the northern region and in the Middle Belt suffer from violence perpetrated by Islamic extremist groups such as militant Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram. Such violence often results in loss of life, physical injury, as well as loss of property. As a result of the violence, Christians are also being dispossessed of their land and means of livelihood—and Christians with a Muslim background also face rejection from their own families.

In early October 2019, in Chikun, Kaduna State, Fulani-speaking gunmen kidnapped six school girls and two teachers from Engravers College Kakau, a Christian-run high school. The abductors stormed the boarding school around midnight, when most of the students and teachers were asleep. The victims were released after a ransom was paid. In the last few years, armed groups have perpetrated countless abductions along the Kaduna-Abuja highway for ransom, and in the process killed some of their victims. But this is the first time a school was involved.

Kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria have multiplied in recent months, a situation that has prompted Church leaders to express serious concern about the security of their members and to call on the government to prioritize the security of its citizens.