Kaduna: Three Died In Captivity As Amnesty International Demands Speedy, Safe Release
By Sunday Etuka
Three people abducted from Awon community in southern Kaduna’s Kachia Local Government Area have died in captivity within the past week, as 37 worshippers seized from churches on Easter Sunday remain unaccounted for nearly five months after their abduction, Amnesty International said.
The rights group, in a post on its X handle late on Sunday, said it was deeply troubled that the 37 congregants, taken during raids on churches in Ariko community on 5 April 2026, are still being held.
Among those who died last week, according to Amnesty International, was Joy Samuel, who succumbed on 28 August after giving birth in what the organisation described as deplorable conditions in captivity; her newborn baby also died.
Separately, it said, 34-year-old Yusuf Bawa and his five-year-old son died from what the group said was a combination of severe illness and hunger.
Amnesty International said the deaths point to the broader abuse being inflicted on captives, who it said are routinely threatened with death, denied food, beaten, dehumanised and, in the case of women and girls, subjected to rape while in the custody of their abductors.
The organisation linked the abductions to a wider pattern of violence engulfing southern Kaduna, where recurring attacks, kidnappings for ransom and killings have created a climate of fear that is disrupting farming, schooling and other aspects of daily life.
It described the Ariko church raids as one of many episodes exposing what it called the failure of Nigerian authorities to protect citizens in the region.
Amnesty International called on the Nigerian government to meet its national and international human rights obligations by intensifying efforts to secure the safe release of the 37 worshippers as well as all others still held by armed groups across the country.
