By By Elizabeth Ugbo
Suspected bandits abducted a Catholic catechist, his heavily pregnant wife, and about 30 other residents during a midnight attack on Kutaho and Kugir communities in Aribi Ward, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, around 2 a.m. on Monday, forcing residents to flee their homes amid rising insecurity. Residents of the affected communities have since deserted their homes following the attack. Confirming the incident, the Parish Priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Kutaho, Reverend Father Linus Matthew Bobai, said more than 90 percent of villagers have taken refuge in neighbouring communities out of fear of further attacks. According to him, the attackers had earlier demanded a ₦10 million ransom from a parishioner and threatened to carry out mass abductions, alleging that residents were wealthy due to irrigation farming and ginger cultivation in the area. Reverend Father Bobai disclosed that 16 persons were abducted in Kutaho, including the catechist, his pregnant wife, and their baby, while another 16 residents were taken from Kugir, bringing the total number of abductees to 32. He added that some elderly and sick victims were later released, while a few others managed to escape. The village head, the Dakachi, narrowly escaped being killed but sustained machete injuries to his head and arm. He was rushed to Kagarko for medical treatment. The priest said soldiers had been informed of earlier threats but lamented the absence of consistent security patrols in the area. He appealed to the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to urgently intervene, warning that the mass displacement of residents was fast turning into a humanitarian crisis. As of the time of filing this report, the Kaduna State Police Command had not issued an official statement on the incident.
