Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A woman abducted during Easter Sunday services at a church in Ariko village, Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, has given birth inside a bandits’ forest camp, with the umbilical cord reportedly severed by a fellow captive using her teeth after the abductors refused to provide any medical assistance or cutting instrument. The account was provided by a survivor who recently escaped the camp after trekking for about three days through the bush, according to a Facebook post by Reuben Buhari, a former media aide to the late Governor Patrick Yakowa.
The attack occurred on 5 April 2026, when armed bandits stormed First ECWA Church and St Augustine Catholic Church in Ariko village during Easter services, killing at least five worshippers and abducting an estimated 37 others – including men, women and children. The captives have now spent 58 days in the forest without rescue. The escapee told Buhari that a pregnant woman among the captives went into labour about a week before she fled. The woman was already ill and severely malnourished, like most of the other captives. With no nurse, midwife or doctor available, fellow female captives assisted the delivery.
Because no sharp object could be obtained, the women pleaded with their captors for something to cut the umbilical cord. The bandits refused. After waiting for nearly an hour, one of the women took the cord in her mouth and severed it with her teeth. The captives then begged for water to clean both the newborn and the mother; their request was refused. Permission to go to a nearby stream was also denied. Later, rainfall allowed the captives to soak pieces of cloth in rainwater and use them to wipe the baby and the mother. The newborn was wrapped in pieces of clothing that the women had been wearing since their abduction. The mother was too weak from starvation to produce breast milk immediately after delivery, but the baby continued suckling until a small amount of milk eventually began to flow.
The escapee described life inside the camp as a daily struggle against starvation, with captives often surviving for up to five days on nothing but boiled leaves and water. Men are constantly restrained with bicycle chains. Sanitary conditions are appalling: captives bathe only once every seven to ten days, and women and children suffer from painful skin rashes and lice infestations. Another captive, Victoria Simeon, 28, also gave birth in the kidnappers’ den while her hands and legs were chained, but that baby did not survive, according to community negotiator David Ariko.
The abductors have demanded a ransom of N1 billion and 35 motorcycles (20 of a brand locally called “Boko Haram” and 15 Bajaj bikes). The community has declared that it cannot afford such a sum. Despite an initial Nigerian Army claim that troops had rescued 31 worshippers, the Kuturmi Development Association (KUDA) and other groups insisted that no one had been freed. As of Wednesday, 3 June 2026, the 37 captives remained in the forest camp, with no rescue breakthrough announced by security agencies. The escapee’s account has added a new layer of urgency to the demands of families who have now waited 58 days for the return of their loved ones.
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