Eight residents of Awon village in Kaduna State, including a mother and her children, have died after spending months in captivity following their abduction by kidnappers.
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The victims were among 11 residents abducted from the community in Kachia Local Government Area of Southern Kaduna on April 20, 2026. The kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of ₦300 million and 23 motorcycles for their release.
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According to reports, the abductors rejected an offer of several million naira from the rural community and threatened to deny the captives food until their demands were met.
One of the 11 victims later escaped, while the remaining captives continued to endure the conditions in the kidnappers’ camp.
Journalist Reuben Buhari announced the deaths in a Facebook post, revealing that several members of the abducted families had died from illness and starvation.
Among the victims was a woman identified as Joy Samuel, who reportedly died on August 28 after giving birth while in captivity. Her newborn baby also died.
Joy’s 14-year-old daughter, who was abducted alongside her, later died after reportedly becoming critically ill. Her three-year-old daughter, Silvia, has also died, according to Buhari.
Another victim, 34-year-old Yusuf Bawa, and his five-year-old son reportedly died from sickness and severe hunger while being held captive.
Despite negotiations, the kidnappers have reportedly reduced their ransom demand to ₦9 million and four motorcycles for the release of the surviving captives. They also acknowledged that the remaining victims were in extremely poor condition because of illness and starvation.
According to Buhari, only two of the original 11 abductees remain alive after one person escaped and eight others died.
In his Facebook post, the journalist wrote:
“Heartbreaking news: The little girl in the first picture, who had been held captive for more than five months by kidnappers, has passed away, joining her 14-year-old sister. Their mother had passed away earlier in the kidnappers’ camp after giving birth to a child who also died,”
He continued:
“Recall that 11 people were kidnapped on April 20th from Awon village in Kachia LGA; one person later escaped. Eight of the victims have now passed, leaving only two people alive who have spent 185 days in captivity as of today — six months.
“The bandit kingpin known as Yellow One Million, who controls all kidnapping activities and owns all the kidnappers’ camps in Kachia and part of Kajuru, personally confirmed to a recent female escapee that he has unalived them.
“These pictures are of five of the eight who have passed away in the kidnapper’s camp.”
See their photos below….