CV NEWS FEED // Families of 20 Catholic medical students recently abducted by Fulani herdsmen in the Benue State of Nigeria are becoming desperate, as threats of violence from the terrorists continue to increase.
According to a TruthNigeria report, the abduction took place on Aug. 15 at Quarry Mining Point, just outside the Mechanic Village Otukpo, while the students and their house director were on their way to attend the annual Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS). The conference was set to take place in the southeast Enugu State.
“The Medical Students who were on their way to Enugu State were kidnapped on Thursday at 5:30 pm local time (16 GMT) at Ojano, shortly after the 2nd Military Checkpoint along Otukpo-Enugu Road,” the Commander of Homeland Defence in Otukpo William Agada told a TruthNigeria correspondent in the report.
“The kidnappers are Fulani as they speak Fulfulde and Hausa, Agada continued:
They have already established contacts with the families of the victims. We are also talking with them.
I am just returning from the bush after today’s operation. We are trying to get the coordinates of their location before we swing into full action.
As CatholicVote previously reported, targeted kidnapping attacks against Christians by Fulani herdsmen, a Muslim-majority nomadic ethnic group, have been increasingly on the rise for the past year, especially in the middle belt region.
Family members of the hostages are becoming desperate, according to TruthNigeria, as the terrorist group continues to issue threats of violence if ransom demands are not met.
Nicodemus Shantong, 60, told TruthNigeria that his son, Paul revealed during a brief conversation on August 17 that the Fulani herdsmen would kill him if his father failed to pay a $33,000 ransom within 24 hours. No updates on Paul’s situation, nor the rest of the captives have been reported.
The herdsmen are reportedly allowing the captives to keep their cell phones “to assist in the aggressive push for ransoms.”
