The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter
has revealed that it paid over N300 million as ransom to secure the release of
over 500 of its members kidnapped in the last two years.
The state chairman of the association, Rev. Joseph Hayab, stated this in Kaduna yesterday lamented that even after paying the ransom some of the victims were killed by their abductors.
Hayab who condemned the activities of bandits in the state said in one of the villages, a church paid N20 million to the abductors.
He also stated that the activities of the criminals had forced inhabitants of 10 villages to flee from their homes to other parts in the state.
“We have been computing the number of Christian population kidnapped in Kaduna State in the last two years, over 500 of them that we know — either in the villages or in town —have been kidnapped.
“The people have moved out of some settlements completely and we have closed down our churches because of the activities of the kidnappers.
“We are still computing, but at the last count, the church has coughed out over N300 million as ransom to kidnappers. In the case of the chief of Kajuru that was killed, it was N8 million that the kidnappers took.
“There was a Reverend Father in Kachia, they took about N1.5 million. They still killed him. In Dankande, Birnin-Gwari, they collected over N7 million before they released those people to us.
