Ishaku Dan’azumi, the village head of Kurmin Wali in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna State, has confirmed that 80 worshippers abducted during the attack on three churches in the community have escaped, while 86 others are still being held by the gunmen.
Gatekeepers News reports that he explained that the victims who escaped did so on the same day the incident happened, but they could not return immediately because they lost their way inside the forest.
Dan’azumi said the escapees ran into the bush and hid out of fear, as they believed the attackers might still be around and were worried that the community might have been destroyed like another nearby village that was reportedly burnt by bandits.
“We have now confirmed that 80 of our people have been found in different locations. They ran through the forest and hid because of fear on the very day of the incident,” he said.
He added that the breakthrough came when one of the victims contacted the community a few days later and revealed where they were staying, which made it possible for people to trace and confirm their location. “One of them called and told us where they were. We sent people there and confirmed their whereabouts,” he said.
The village head said a headcount carried out on Friday showed that the 80 victims were found in different forest settlements, and search teams have been sent to other areas to check if more people are still hiding.
He also confirmed that the government and security authorities have been informed of the development, but many of the escapees are still afraid to return home.
“We have informed the government that 80 people have been found. They want us to gather them together, but fear is stopping many of them from returning,” he said.
“However, we have spoken with them and confirmed their locations.”
