Eight of 37 Christians abducted at Easter reported dead in Nigeria
People kidnapped in Nigeria are being held in a camp. Photo: Facebook Reuben Buhari
At least eight of the 37 hostages taken from Ariko village, Kachia Local Government Area (LGA) of Southern Kaduna, Nigeria, on April 6, 2026, during an Easter worship service have died in captivity, reports TruthNigeria, citing a former hostage and humanitarian workers.
According to the source, the kidnapped men are being held in one of the camps in the Rijana area, where residents from other settlements are also detained. A survivor who managed to escape and is currently in hospital recounted that the captives were kept in the open air, given almost no food or water, forbidden to speak, and subjected to beatings. He stated that dysentery and fever were common illnesses among the hostages, with virtually no medical assistance available.
Particularly heart-breaking was the account of a woman who managed to escape with her three daughters after approximately six months in captivity. During the escape, her four-year-old daughter died from sickness and starvation. According to the former hostage, the mother and sisters carried the child's body with them until they reached a community where they could finally receive help.
It is reported that the kidnapping of the 37 Christians took place during an Easter service on April 6. Former Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung stated that at least eight people from Ariko and neighboring communities may have died after several months in captivity.
As the UOJ reported, on August 10 it became known about a series of attacks on Christians in Plateau State in central Nigeria, in which three believers were killed within a week.
Read also
Wounded Catholic priest in Poland calls to forgive Ukrainian attacker
A Catholic priest wounded in the attack on a Benedictine abbey in Jarosław asked the faithful to pray for the attacker and not blame the Ukrainian people as a whole.
UOC begins celebrations honoring St. Kuksha of Odesa
A service on the eve of the feast day of St. Kuksha of Odesa was held at the Dormition Monastery.
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve raises concern over Sviatohirsk shrines
Exhibition organizers stressed the need to document the impact of the war on Sviatohirsk in order to preserve Ukrainian identity.
Favor Foundation donates food and diapers to Kharkiv hospital
The UOC charity provided hygiene supplies for patients at an emergency hospital in Kharkiv.
Dumenko presents awards to staff ahead of Soviet-era Reserve’s anniversary
The OCU claimed that the creation of the Soviet museum made it possible to preserve the Kyiv Caves Lavra during the years of atheist persecution.
UOJ-USA publishes scandalous Phanar document about chronicles of OCU creation
In the document prepared for Patriarch Bartholomew, a Phanar representative described the SBU's surveillance of the Constantinople delegation and Poroshenko's pressure on the course of the "Unification Council."