ETP Rescues Families Caught In Kaduna’s Kidnapping Crisis
A wounded man abandoned after a gun attack, three women raped in captivity, and an 11-month-old baby left without her abducted mother have received emergency assistance from Equipping the Persecuted (ETP) in Kaduna State.
The Washington-based humanitarian organisation also distributed food and cash to residents of Janhurya Community in Kajuru Local Government Area, where prolonged attacks have reportedly prevented farmers from accessing their fields.
The interventions were carried out between 29 September and 5 October in Kajuru, Kachia and Chikun LGAs as kidnappings and attacks continue to disrupt communities across Southern Kaduna.
In Maro, Kajuru LGA, 28-year-old Zakaria Mani was reportedly attacked by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militia on 29 September.
As residents fled the area for safety, Mani was left behind with his injuries.
An ETP field official took him to a local clinic, where the organisation covered the cost of his treatment and medication.
On 4 October, James returned with an ETP team, with the approval of the organisation’s Executive Director, Judd Saul, and provided additional funds for Mani’s medication.
Three women who survived rape while in captivity at kidnapping camps in the Rijana area also received assistance from ETP.
The women, whose identities have been withheld for security reasons, are from three separate communities in Southern Kaduna.
ETP provided each survivor with funds to start a small business and regain some measure of financial independence.
Their release from captivity, however, did not end their ordeal.
Sources familiar with their cases said some of the women faced rejection at home after returning from captivity, including abandonment by their husbands.
They were subsequently left to care for themselves and their children with little or no income.
Rijana, located along the Kaduna-Abuja highway and extending across the Kajuru-Kachia axis, has long been associated with kidnapping activities.
In Maraban Rido, Chikun LGA, ETP came to the aid of 11-month-old Amazing, whose mother, Janet Moses, was abducted on 21 September in the Maruba community.
Janet was still being held by her abductors as of 5 October.
Since her mother’s abduction, Amazing has been staying with her grandparents, Moses Sabastine and Grace Moses, as well as her father.
The family reportedly struggled to provide adequate food for the baby and had resorted to feeding her pap because they could not afford infant formula.
ETP provided funds for infant food and other essential needs. Sabastine also received a bag of rice donated by Saul. He expressed appreciation to ETP for assisting the family.
The organisation’s intervention extended to the Janhurya community in Kajuru County, where residents said they had been living under the threat of repeated attacks for about two months.
On 5 October, ETP distributed cash and rice to selected residents while preparing a larger relief intervention.
Luka Bala, one of the beneficiaries, told ETP officials that armed men had been targeting farmers attempting to reach their fields.
Bala said he fled the community after he was attacked and became a target for kidnapping.
According to him, ongoing attacks have forced many residents to abandon their farms as the rainy season ends.
Residents fear the disruption could lead to serious food shortages in the coming months because many families have been unable to cultivate or harvest their farmland.
ETP said it was preparing additional relief assistance for the community.
Judd Saul, founder of Equipping the Persecuted, said ETP will keep funding its relief work for persecuted Christians in Nigeria as as it has for seven years.
He further noted that , Nigerian Christians won’t be left alone as ETP would continue to come their rescue.
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